Research report 2009 - Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine

Identification of a molecular ‘switch’ controlling blood vessel growth

Authors
Benedito, Rui; Roca, Cristina; Sörensen, Inga; Adams, Susanne; Gossler, Achim; Fruttiger, Marcus; Bixel, M. Gabriele; Adams, Ralf H.
Departments

Gewebebiologie und Morphogenese (Prof. Dr. Ralf Adams)
MPI für molekulare Biomedizin, Münster

Summary
Researchers of the MPI for Molecular Biomedicine have discovered a novel molecular switch that can promote or block the growth of new blood vessels. This control mechanism involves the balance between two cell surface proteins with opposing functional roles, which decide whether new vascular sprouts and branch points will be formed. These results could open up new avenues for the treatment of vascular disease and cancer.

For the full text, see the German version.

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