Inhibitors of angiogenesis

Angiogenesis, the formation of new capillaries, is essential to a number of important physiological events, both normal and pathological. Recently, increased attention has focused on the purification and characterization of inhibitors of this process, because of the potential therapeutic value of angiogenesis inhibitors in controlling such "angiogenic diseases" as proliferative retinopathy, solid tumors, rheumatoid arthritis, and neovascular glaucoma. We review the process of neovascularization and the assays that have been developed to study its inhibition in vivo and in vitro. We also discuss the properties of different angiogenesis inhibitors and examine the mechanisms by which such inhibitors could potentially intervene in the process of neovascularization.