Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that processes of inflammation and angiogenesis are interconnected, especially in human pathologies. Newly formed blood vessels enable the continuous recruitment of inflammatory cells, which release a variety of proangiogenic cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors and further promote angiogenesis. These series of positive feedback loops ultimately create a vicious cycle that exacerbates inflammation, transforming it into the chronic process. Recently, this concept of reciprocity of angiogenesis and inflammation has been expanded to include oxidative stress as a novel mechanistic connection between inflammation-driven oxidation and neovascularization. Production of reactive oxygen species results from activation of immune cells by proinflammatory stimuli. As oxidative stress can lead to chronic inflammation by activating a variety of transcription factors including NF-κB, AP-1, and PPAR-γ, inflammation itself has a reciprocal relationship with oxidative stress. This review discusses the recent findings in the area bridging neovascularization and oxidation and highlights novel mechanisms of inflammation- and oxidative stress-driven angiogenesis.