The codependence of angiogenesis and chronic inflammation.

Angiogenesis is the growth of new blood vessels from existing ones. It is an important aspect of new tissue development, growth, and tissue repair. It is also a component of many diseases including cancer, blindness, and chronic inflammation such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriasis. There is considerable evidence to suggest that angiogenesis and chronic inflammation are codependent; recent studies have begun to reveal the nature of this link, which involves both augmentation of cellular infiltration and proliferation and overlapping roles of regulatory growth factors and cytokines. Through these studies, we have begun to understand the codependence of chronic inflammation and angiogenesis, the potential benefits of targeting angiogenesis in the treatment of chronic inflammation, and of targeting chronic inflammation to affect angiogenesis.