Neovascularization in diabetes

Abstract

Diabetes and its complications are a major public health burden in the developed world. The major cause of diabetic complications is abnormal growth of new blood vessels. This dysfunctional neovascularization results in significant morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes and, as such, is a major focus of basic and clinical investigation. It has become clear that hyperglycemia disrupts tissue-level signaling in response to hypoxia and ischemia, impairs the vasculogenic potential of circulating stem cells and fundamentally alters the structure and function of key neovascularization proteins, including hypoxia-inducible factor-1. These mechanistic and pathophysiologic studies have revealed new therapeutic targets to restore normal neovascularization and to ameliorate and prevent diabetic vascular complications.

Keywords::

• angiogenesis
• diabetes
• HIF-1α
• neovascularization
• vasculogenesis

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Notes

These diverse functional responses function to maintain and restore tissue oxygen homeostasis and vascular health. In diabetes, many of these hypoxia-inducible factor-related pathways are impaired and may be responsible for the myriad vascular complications seen concurrently with diabetic disease.