THE CODEPENDENCE OF ANGIOGENESIS AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION

Angiogenesis is the growth of new blood vessels from existing ones, It is an important aspect of new tissue development, growth, and tissue repair, It is also a component of many diseases including cancer, blin dness, and chronic inflammation such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriasis, There is considerable evidence to suggest that angiogenesis and chronic inflammation are codependent; recent studies have begun t o reveal the nature of this link, which involves both augmentation of cellular infiltration and proliferation and overlapping roles of regul atory growth factors and cytokines. Through these studies, we have beg un to understand the codependence of chronic inflammation and angiogen esis, the potential benefits of targeting angiogenesis in the treatmen t of chronic inflammation, and of targeting chronic inflammation to af fect angiogenesis.