| Angiogenesis is the induction of blood vessels from preexisting blood vessels. It is an essential process for cancer growth and serves as a conduit for micrometastases to travel to distant sites. There are numerous endogenous factors that are released by different types of cells, including tumor and endothelial cells that are involved in the induction and inhibition of angiogenesis. Often some of the angiogenic inducers such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) work in synergism and have overlapping function, while other factors such as tissue inhibitors of metalloproteases (TIMPs) and angiopoietin-2 function in inhibiting the actions of these inducers. Part I of this thesis is a review of the process of angiogenesis and many of the factors that help to induce and inhibit it. Part II of this thesis proposes an experiment that could be conducted to test the efficacy of a particular combination of antiangiogenic therapy, using angiostatin, endostatin, and radiation therapy on a highly vascularized tumor model, rat C6 glioma cells. The purpose of this proposed experiment is to study the effectiveness of combining antiangiogenic therapy on vascularized glioma in a murine model. |
