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Role of Angiopoietins and Tie receptor tyrosine kinases in angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis

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Abstract

This review focuses on the signaling system involving the Angiopoietin1/Tie2 receptor, which appears to be involved in the secondary stages of blood vessel formation. Although this system is crucial for blood and lymphatic vessel formation, identifying its precise role in embryonic and adult vascular biology has been a major challenge. The evidence for the key role of the Angiopoietin/Tie system is discussed, and some of the other members of the system (Ang2, Tie1) are mentioned. A comparison is made with the VEGF signaling system, which seems to provide a complementary, and somewhat more tractable, signaling system. Some of the basic unanswered questions concerning Tie/Angiopoietin biology and the secondary stages of blood vessel formation are also highlighted.

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Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Nick Gale, Jocelyn Holash, John Rudge, Nick Papadopoulos, Stan Wiegand, Sam Davis, Chris Daly, and George Yancopoulos for many stimulating discussions.

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  1. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA

    Gavin Thurston

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Thurston, G. Role of Angiopoietins and Tie receptor tyrosine kinases in angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. Cell Tissue Res 314, 61–68 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-003-0749-6

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