Peptidomimetics and Angiogenesis

Ralph      Mazitschek; Patrick      Baumhof; Athanassios      Giannis

Abstract

Angiogenesis is the sprouting of new blood capillaries from surrounding preexisting blood vessels. This process is fundamental for embryonic development, wound healing and inflammation. In healthy adults angiogenesis is of minor importance. However, aberrant angiogenesis is essentially involved in disorders as diabetic retinopathy, rheumatoid arthritis and tumor growth, and blocking angiogenesis has emerged as a promising target for antagonizing these diseases. Therefore the development of new anti-angiogenic drugs is of great interest in academic and industrial research. This review focuses on the employment of peptidomimetics in inhibiting pathologic angiogenesis. It will survey the individual aspects of angiogenesis where the usage of peptidomimetics is favored and will consider the current progresses on this field.

Keywords: angiogenesis, preexisting blood vessels, anti-angiogenic drugs, pathologic angiogenesis, ras-raf-pathway, integrins, matrixmetalloproteinases

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