Word: angiogenin
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...protein, which the Harvard team named angiogenin, was isolated from human colon-cancer cells after a decade-long search financed by a grant from Monsanto. What partly slowed the quest was the fact that the protein is found in the body in only minuscule quantities. Even so, says Team Member James Riordan, angiogenin is so potent that it can induce blood vessels to form when it is present in tissue as only one part per quadrillion...
...hailed as a major step by Judah Folkman, a cancer researcher at Harvard who pioneered the study of angiogenesis. The prospect of learning to control the proliferation of blood vessels, Folkman says, has ! broad implications in the treatment not only of cancer but of many human ailments. For example, angiogenin might someday be used to encourage the growth of new blood vessels in and around the heart after a heart attack. Stimulating the growth of capillaries would also speed recovery from burns and other types of tissue damage...
...blocking angiogenin, on the other hand, doctors might not only stop the growth of tumors but perhaps prevent blindness in diabetics, a complication that results from the abnormal growth of capillaries in the retina. A possible bonus: tests for angiogenin in the blood or urine could provide early warnings of cancer...
Vallee cautions, however, that such applications are a long way off and that many basic questions must first be answered. While angiogenin is "cardinal to the process" of blood-vessel formation, he says, the protein is different from other known angiogenic factors that may work at different stages of the process. If so, controlling excessive blood-vessel growth in patients with cancer or other ailments could prove to be a complicated business. In any case, the next step for researchers will be to produce enough angiogenin for study. Right now, Vallee has no more than 100 micrograms...
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