Open Access

REVIEW

Thrombin’s central role in angiogenesis and pathophysiological processes

Nikos E. Tsopanoglou, Michael E. Maragoudakis

Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, University of Patras, Greece

* Corresponding Author: N.E. Tsopanoglou,

European Cytokine Network 2009, 20(4), 171-179. https://doi.org/10.1684/ecn.2009.0166

Accepted 12 June 2009;

Abstract

A plethora of endogenous modulators of angiogenesis have been identified and their roles in the molecular and cellular events that mediate and regulate angiogenesis have been proposed. In this review, we summarize the recent findings on the role of thrombin/thrombosis on angiogenesis and other related pathophys-iological processes. The mechanisms by which thrombin itself and its receptor PAR1 orchestrate many cellular events through interaction with a variety of other factors and cell types are discussed. These new data point to the complexity of the regulatory processes involved in the angiogenic cascade, which may be tissue specific, and dependent upon the pathology involved. The understanding of these events may provide targets for therapeutic intervention in disease states where angiogenesis is disturbed.

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Keywords

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