Pericyte loss is an early pathologic feature of diabetic retinopathy, consistently present in retinae of diabetic humans and animals. Because pericyte recruitment and endothelial cell survival are controlled, in part, by the angiopoietin/Tie2 ligand/receptor system, we studied the expression of angiopoietin-2 and -1 in relation to the evolution of pericyte loss in diabetic rat retinae, using qu...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is increasingly recognised as a complication of childhood chronic kidney disease (CKD) even in the absence of diabetes and hypertension. We hypothesized that an alteration in angiopoietin-1 and -2, growth factors which regulate endothelial and vascular function could be involved. We report that the endothelial survival factor, angiopoietin-1 is low in children with ...

Cardiac myocyte loss, regardless of insult, can trigger compensatory myocardial remodeling leading to heart failure. Identifying mediators of cardiac myocyte survival may advance clinical efforts toward myocardial preservation. Angiopoietin-1 limits ischemia-induced cardiac injury. This benefit is ascribed to angiogenesis because the receptor, tie2, is largely endothelial-specific. We propose t...

BACKGROUND Angiopoietin-2 is a proinflammatory mediator of endothelial injury in animal models, and increased plasma angiopoietin-2 levels are associated with poor outcomes in patients with sepsis-associated acute lung injury. Whether angiopoietin-2 levels are modified by treatment strategies in patients with acute lung injury is unknown. OBJECTIVES To determine whether plasma angiopoietin-2 ...

In this study, we assessed the effects of in vivo hypoxia on the expression of Tie-2 receptors and angiopoietins in various organs of conscious rats and correlated these effects with the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1). RT-PCR and Southern blotting were used to amplify mRNA expression of angiopoietin-1, -2, and -3, Tie-2, and HIF-1 alpha in tissues of normoxic and hypoxic (frac...

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a fast-growing cancer with poor prognosis. Patients with extensive-stage SCLC are generally treated with chemotherapy. Thus, it is essential to identify a predictor of efficacy and prognosis for SCLC. Angiopoietin-2 promotes vascular remodeling and angiogenesis. Increasing evidence reveals that angiopoietin-2 is preferentially expressed in cancer cells, and elev...

Doxorubicin (Dox) is a major anticancer chemotherapeutic agent. However, it causes cardiomyopathy due to the side effect of cardiomyocyte apoptosis. We have previously reported that angiopoietin-1 significantly reduced myocardial infarction after ischemic injury and protected cardiomyocytes from oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. It is hypothesized that angiopoietin-1 may protect cardiomyocyte...

10 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 12 1. The VEGF family 12 1.1. Growth factors 1.1.1. Vascular endothelial groth factor (VEGF-A) 12 1.1.2. VEGF-B 13 1.1.3. VEGF-C 13 1.1.4. VEGF-D 15 1.1.5. VEGF-E 16 1.2. The VEGF receptors 16 1.2.1. VEGFR-1 (or FLT1) 17 1.2.2. VEGFR-2 (KDR) 17 1.2.3. NEUROPILIN-1 (or receptor for VEGF165) 17 1.2.4. VEGFR-3 (or Flt4) 19 2. The Angiopoietin/Tie family 19 2.1. Growth f...

Angiopoietin-1 is a Tie-2 receptor agonist that stabilizes vascular endothelium, promoting endothelial maturation and preventing capillary leak. Angiopoietin-2 is largely a competitive partial antagonist that is markedly elevated in humans and animal models of sepsis and other inflammatory states, directly disrupts the endothelial barrier, and has been correlated with end-organ dysfunction and ...