Epigenetic control of angiogenesis via DNA methylation.

摘要

Why some patients develop limb- and life-saving collaterals but others do not constitutes one of the great challenges that face patients with peripheral vascular and coronary artery disease. A longstanding goal in vascular disease is the establishment of therapies that enhance angio-genesis in compromised tissue beds. To achieve this goal, however, it is essential to define and understand the underlying mechanisms that control angiogenesis and may distinguish individual patient capacity for collateral formation. In this issue of Circulation, Rao and colleagues report that ischemic injury increases DNA methylation in several genes critical for angiogenesis. The methyl-CpG-binding domain 2 (MBD2) protein senses DNA methylation and mediates transcriptional repression of genes involved in angiogenesis and endothelial cell survival. This seminal report mechanistically links epigenetic changes in vascular cells to angiogenesis, paving the way for new therapies that could improve perfusion in patients with vascular disease.