title: Angiopoietin 2 in placentation and tumor biology: The yin and yang of vascular biology.
abstract: There are several parallels between placental and tumor biology. Both require rapid acquisition of a blood supply to supply oxygen and nutrients, the placenta through neoangiogenesis and tumors by co-opting the existing vasculature. In addition, successful pregnancy also requires remodeling of the maternal uterine spiral arteries. Angiopoietins (Angs) are a family of angiogenic growth factors, the best studied being Ang-1 and Ang-2, which signal through the membrane tyrosine kinase receptor Tie2, and in simple terms have opposite effects with Ang-1 acting to stabilize newly formed blood vessels and Ang-2 having a destabilizing effect. The roles of Ang-1, and in particular Ang-2 in placental and tumor biology are discussed in this review.
authors.affiliation: Division of Uterine Vascular Biology, Guangzhou Institute of Pediatrics, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Qiong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Division of Uterine Vascular Biology, Guangzhou Institute of Pediatrics, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: gendie.lash@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Gendie E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Lash
mesh_terms: D042702:Angiopoietin-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000378:metabolism*; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D010920:Placenta / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism; D010929:Placentation / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D066253:Vascular Remodeling / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D042702:Angiopoietin-2
keywords: Angiopoietins; Placentation; Spiral artery remodeling; Tumor biology