Nitric oxide-induced collagen IV expression and angiogenesis: FAK or fiction? Focus on 'Collagen IV contributes to nitric oxide-induced angiogenesis of lung endothelial cells

摘要

type IV collagen IS a major basement membrane component of blood vessels and plays a key role in the regulation of endo-thelial cell adhesion, migration, and angiogenesis. Assembly of the type IV collagen network dictates the organization of the vascular basement membrane, which is required for endothelial cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix via interactions with cell surface alpha_1beta_1- and alpha_vbeta_3-integrins (10). Collagen IV pep-tides generated by proteolytic cleavage can be either proangio-genic (HepI, HepIII) (10) or antiangiogenic (tumstatin). Thus collagen cleavage is tightly regulated during angiogenesis to promote endothelial sprouting and lumen formation during the early stages and vessel maturation in the later stages (see Ref. 6 for a recent review).