The Mechanism of Endostatin in the Angiogenesis Related Disease

Angiogenesis plays an important role in physiological procedure and various tissue destructive pathological processes. It is thought that angiogenesis depends on a delicate balance between endogenous stimulators and inhibitors. Endostatin, as one of the important angiogenesis inhibitors, inhibits migration and tube formation of endothelial cells in vitro and angiogenesis in vivo. The mechanism of endostatin in inhibiting angiogenesis is complicated. It is demonstrated that endostatin inhibits proliferation, migration and tube formation of endothelial cells by interacting with VEGF, MMP-2 and integrin α5β1. Moreover, endostatin induces endothelial cells apoptosis by several pathways. This review describes the mechanism of endostatin in inhibiting angiogenesis and the role of endostatin in diseases related to angiogenesis.