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A reevaluation of integrins as regulators of angiogenesis

Nature Medicine volume 8, pages 918–921 (2002)Cite this article

Pharmacological agents directed against the integrins αvβ3 and αvβ5 have been reported to inhibit angiogenesis. However, genetic ablations of the genes encoding these integrins fail to block angiogenesis and in some cases even enhance it. This apparent paradox suggests the hypotheses that these integrins are negative regulators of angiogenesis and that the drugs targeting them may be acting as agonists rather than antagonists.

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Figure 1: αvβ3 as a mediator of antiangiogenic regulators.
Figure 2: Trans-dominant inhibition of proangiogenic integrins.
Figure 3: Three models for endothelial apoptosis.

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Acknowledgements

I thank J. Lively, J. McCarty, D. Taverna and K. Hodivala-Dilke for valuable discussions and G. Hendrey for manuscript preparation. Work in the author's laboratory was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and by grants from the National Institutes of Health (RO1CA17007 and PO1 HL66105). R.O. Hynes is a HHMI investigator.

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  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard O. Hynes

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Hynes, R. A reevaluation of integrins as regulators of angiogenesis. Nat Med 8, 918–921 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0902-918

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