USE OF INHIBITORS OF PLACENTAL GROWTH FACTOR FOR THE TREATMENT OF PATHOLOGICAL ANGIOGENESIS, PATHOLOGICAL ARTERIOGENESIS, INFLAMMATION, TUMOUR FORMATION AND/OR VASCULAR LEAKAGE

摘要

The present invention relates to the use of an angiogenesis inhibitorconsisting of anantibody or a fragment thereof specifically binding to placental growthfactor, for thepreparation of a medicament for the treatment of pathological angiogenesis,such ascancer, diseases of the eye, pulmonary hypertension, inflammation and oedema.Inparticular, the invention describes a stress induced phenotype in a transgenicmouse(PIGF4-) which does not produce Placental Growth Factor (PIGF) and whichdemonstrates an impaired vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-dependentresponse. It is revealed that PIGF-deficiency has a negative influence ondiversepathological processes of angiogenesis, arteriogenesis and vascular leakagecomprisingischemic retinopathy, tumour formation, pulmonary hypertension, vascularleakage(oedema formation) and inflammatory disorders. The invention thus relates tomoleculeswhich can inhibit the binding of PIGF to its receptor (VEGFR-1), such asmonoclonalantibodies and tetrameric peptides. The invention further relates to the useof thesemolecules to treat the latter pathological processes.