Pro-angiogenic growth factor

Pro-angiogenic growth factors are a diverse group of secreted signaling proteins that stimulate the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing vasculature, a process known as angiogenesis (NIH, 2023). The most prominent members include the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, fibroblast growth factors (FGF), platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF), and angiopoietins (UniProt, 2024). In healthy physiology, these factors are essential for wound healing, embryonic development, and the female reproductive cycle (PubMed, 2022). However, their pathological over-expression is a hallmark of many diseases, most notably solid tumors, which utilize these factors to establish a blood supply for growth and metastasis, and neovascular eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration (StatPearls, 2023). Consequently, they are major therapeutic targets; drugs such as bevacizumab (Avastin) or various tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are designed to neutralize these factors or block their receptors to inhibit vessel growth (PubChem, 2024). While effective, targeting these pathways can lead to systemic side effects like hypertension and impaired tissue repair because these factors also maintain normal vascular homeostasis (Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2021).

Other names

Angiogenic growth factorsAngiogenic cytokinesPro-angiogenic factorsVascular growth factors

Inhibition of ligand binding to cognate receptors (neutralization) or blockade of downstream receptor tyrosine kinase signaling to prevent endothelial cell activation and vessel sprouting.