Parasites as Modulators of Angiogenesis: Implications for Vascular Biology and Pathogenesis

Some parasitic infections promote or inhibit vascular growth in their hosts to increase parasite survival through immune evasion and tissue dissemination. This review focuses on how the most prevalent protozoan and helminth parasites in humans, such as Plasmodium, Toxoplasma, Leishmania, Trypanosoma, Entamoeba, Schistosoma, and Taenia, manipulate angiogenic pathways for their own benefit. This knowledge reveals that angiogenesis is central to the pathophysiology and therapeutic targeting of parasitic diseases. Importantly, parasites and/or their excretory/secretory factors, which modulate vascular responses, are potential treatments for chronic degenerative diseases in which angiogenesis is crucial to disease progression, such as cancer.