Angiogenesis: the genetic regulation of vascular development

Abstract

For centuries, many scientists are fascinated by the organisation of the vascular network. The Greek philosopher and polymath Aristotle (384 BC) was one of the first man who described the vasculature. He wrote: “the system of blood vessels in the body may be compared to those of water-courses which are constructed in gardens: they start from one source, or spring, and branch off into numerous channels, and then into still more, and so on progressively, so as to carry a supply to every part of the garden”.1 Over time, many models of the vascular system have been developed. In 1628, it was the English biologist and physician William Harvey (1578 AD) who published in his book Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus (Anatomical Exercises on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals) our current model of the vascular system that blood circulates in a closed circuit.2 Until then, less was known about blood vessel development. With the discovery of the microscope in the 17th century by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632 AD), scientists observed for the first time vessel sprouting in thin transparent tissues. It was John Hunter - a Scottish surgeon (1728 AD) - who identified growing vessels in healing wounds and embryos.3,4 The first observation of angiogenesis was made in 1853 by Meyer who described spindle-shaped structures arising from capillaries in tadpole tails, which later became tubular.5,6 Over the last decades, knowledge about blood vessel development has increased by the advances of molecular biology. Today, scientists unravel the factors that stimulate angiogenesis in ischemic tissues and wound healing, and those that inhibit tumour growth and metastasis to develop better medical treatments for cancer and cardiovascular diseases.