Estrogen and angiogenesis - A review

Multiple lines of evidence suggest that estrogen directly modulates angioge nesis via effects on endothelial cells. Under physiological conditions, ang iogenesis is routinely observed in the uterus in association with fluctuati ons in the levels of circulating estradiol and other sex steroids. In patho logical circumstances, such as breast cancer, a clear association between e strogen, estrogen receptor expression by endothelial cells, angiogenic acti vity, and/or tumor invasiveness has been made. Studies performed in our lab oratory have revealed that estradiol accelerates functional endothelial rec overy after arterial injury. Despite these consistent observations, the mec hanisms by which estrogen regulates angiogenesis under physiological and pa thological circumstances have not been defined.