آنژيوژنز و مدل هاى مطالعه آن

Angiogenesis and the Models to Study Angiogenesis

Angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels from existing vasculature, is es­sential in physiological processes such as growth and development, wound healing and reproduction. It is also involved in pathological conditions such as tumor growth, metas­tases, and certain chronic diseases. Angiogenesis is dependent on a delicate equilibrium between endogenous angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors. However, under pathologi­cal conditions, this tight regulation becomes lost which can result in the formation of the different diseases, including corneal neovascularization, endometriosis, obesity, athero­sclerosis, diabetic retinopathy, psoriasis and cancer. In general, the process of angiogen­esis is a multi-factorial and highly structured sequence of cellular events comprising mi­gration, proliferation and differentiation of endothelial cells and finally vascular formation, maturation and remodelling. Due to the critical role of angiogenesis in physiological and pathological conditions, scientists have designed various experimental models to assay angiogenesis in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo. Currently, these experimental models are used by many researchers for several applications such as discovering angiogenic and anti­angiogenic agents, and thereby for future therapeutic applications.