Two Faces Of Adult Blood Vessel Formation: Vasculogenesis And Angiogenesis

During development our blood vascular system successively goes through a vasculogenic and angiogenic growth phase during which a primitive and mature vascular network, respectively, is laid down to provide all tissues with oxygen and nutrients. Rather than being a network of rigid tubes, the established blood vasculature turns out to be a very dynamic system that also after birth can be reshaped to meet the perfusional needs of our organs or to respond to pathological triggers such as cancer. Initially, it was thought that this reshaping only occurred through angiogenic mechanisms1Associate Professor, Molecular and Vascular Biology Research Unit, Endothelial Cell Biology Unit, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Campus Gasthuisberg, Onderwijs & Navorsing 1, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. Email: aernout.luttun@med.kuleuven.be 2Professor, Vesalius Research Center, Laboratory of Angiogenesis and Neurovascular Link, Department of Oncology, VIB – Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Campus Gasthuisberg, Onderwijs & Navorsing 4, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. Email: peter.carmeliet@vib-kuleuven.be *Corresponding authorList of abbreviations after the text.