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VEIN ATTEMPT: A Glossary of Angiogenesis Terminology


Angiogenesis: The sprouting of new capillaries in response to ischemia

Angioplasty: A catheter-based repair to unblock a vessel, such as a coronary artery

Arteriogenesis: Maturation or new growth of collateral arteries; occurs outside an area affected by ischemia

Atherosclerosis: A build-up of fatty material in the wall of a coronary artery; causes narrowing of the artery

Collateral artery: A branch of an artery that runs parallel to the parent trunk

Coronary artery disease: A condition that occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart become hardened and narrowed; this decreases the oxygen supply to the heart

Endocytosis: A mechanism by which specific molecules are ingested into a cell

Endothelial cells: Thin, flat cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels

Fibrin: A protein essential for blood clotting

Fibroblast: A connective-tissue cell that secretes collagen and other components of the extracellular matrix

FGF: Fibroblast growth factor, a family of protein growth factors involved in new vessel formation, wound repair, and lung maturation

Growth factor: A naturally occurring protein that stimulates cell division, differentiation, and proliferation

Hemangioma: A cluster of abnormal but usually benign blood vessels; it can be internal or form an external birthmark

In vivo: Studies carried out in living organisms

These are, top, primary tumor and, bottom, metastatic cells, stained for vessels (green) and VEGF (blue).

Ischemia: A decrease in the blood supply to an organ, tissue, or body part caused by constriction or obstruction of the blood vessels

Knock-out mouse: A laboratory mouse in which researchers have inactivated, or "knocked out," an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA

Myocarditis: An inflammation of the myocardium, the muscular part of the heart

Nanoparticle: A microscopic particle measured in nanometers (one billionth of a meter); can be engineered to act as a drug carrier or an imaging agent

Occlusion: Blockage of a blood vessel

PAI-1: Plasminogen activator inhibitor protein, a protein that is required for endothelial cell migration; plasminogen is an inactive form of the blood enzyme plasmin

PDZ domain proteins: Proteins that mediate interactions between proteins underlying the assembly of large protein complexes that are involved in signaling or subcellular transport

Peptide: A short chain of two or more amino acids, the building blocks of proteins

Perfusion: The passage of fluid, such as blood, through a tissue or organ

Peripheral artery disease: A condition similar to coronary artery disease; it is most common in the arteries of the pelvis and legs

Proteasome: A structure inside cells that breaks down proteins

Receptor: A specialized protein on a cell's surface that binds to substances that affect the activities of the cell

Restenosis: A renarrowing or reblockage of an artery at the same site where treatment, such as angioplasty, has already been performed

Syndecans: A family of proteins that span the cell membrane; they are capable of carrying heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate chains (naturally occurring substances that inhibit enzymes that can degrade cartilage), and they perform a key role in fine-tuning transmembrane signaling and in influencing the processes of tissue repair, metabolism, and tumor formation

Synectin: A PDZ-domain protein that is involved in syndecan complex formations

TGF-beta: Transforming growth factor-beta, a cell-growth regulator; it reduces endothelial and smooth-muscle cell growth and migration

VEGF: Vascular endothelial growth factor, a family of growth-factor genes that is critical in all aspects of angiogenesis.


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