Modulation of growth factor action in the cardiovascular system

When the Nobel prize for physiology and medicine was awarded for the discovery of the first peptide growth factors to Rita Levi-Montalcini and Stanley Cohen in 1986, Russel Ross in Seattle was among the first to realize the potential power of growth factors in mediating vascular function and dysfunction with regard to the proliferative activity associated with the development of human atherosclerotic lesions [1]. The concept of growth factors in the vascular literature has been a success story. This is true for the cardiovascular field related to atherosclerosis, angiogenesis, arteriogenesis and collateral artery growth, but maybe even more so for the field of tumor angiogenesis as introduced by Judah Folkman in 1971 [2]. The clinical success of growth factor-directed and -related therapy is exemplified by two growth factor inhibitors that recently have been introduced in optimal anti-tumor therapy, namely the tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI-571 for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia and other tumors [3] and the anti-VEGF antibody Avastin as an anti-angiogenic drug for use in colon cancer [4]. Likewise, the concept of therapeutic use of growth factors for stimulation of neovascularization/collateral artery growth has entered the arena of clinical testing several years ago [5]. The cardiovascular scientific community apparently has shown appreciable interest in the topic, which is attested by Fig. 1 highlighting the continuous and growing impact of growth factors in articles published in Cardiovascular Research.