http://www.clevelandclinic.org/media/release.asp?Press_Releases_No=411


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS:
Alicia Sokol, 216/445-9661
Cole Hatcher, 216/445-1991
February 11, 2004
CLEVELAND CLINIC-LED SCIENTISTS DISCOVER GENE LINKED TO BLOOD VESSEL
FORMATION
Future Research to Focus on Discovery's Potential in Treating
Cancer,
Ischemic Diseases

Cleveland Clinic-led researchers have identified a new gene
that regulates blood vessel formation, or angiogenesis, within the
human body. Their discovery may have potential in devising new
treatments for cancer, ischemic heart disease, stroke and other
conditions.

Complete results of the multi-center research will appear
in the Feb. 12 issue of Nature. The research was led by Qing Wang,
Ph.D., director of The Cleveland Clinic's Center for
Cardiovascular
Genetics and associate staff member in the Department of Molecular
Cardiology within the Clinic's Lerner Research Institute.

"This finding is important for several reasons,"
Dr. Wang
said. "First, it provides additional insight into the rare
illness we
studied to help isolate the angiogenesis gene. Next, it already has
shown us how certain processes work within the body to increase or
decrease blood vessel growth. Future research will seek to control
this growth — either by starting or stopping it — to help
control
disease."

The growth of new blood vessels is an important natural
process, both in health and disease, Dr. Wang explained. In many
serious disease states, the body loses control over angiogenesis.
Excessive angiogenesis occurs in cancer, age-related macular
degeneration, rheumatoid arthritis and more than 70 other conditions.
In these conditions, new blood vessels feed diseased tissue, destroy
normal tissue, and, with cancer, nourish tumor cells with oxygen and
nutrients. On the other hand, insufficient angiogenesis occurs in
diseases such as coronary artery disease, stroke and delayed wound
healing. In these conditions, inadequate blood vessels result in poor
circulation and the risk of tissue death.

In their quest to uncover the secrets of blood vessel
growth, Dr. Wang and his colleagues chose to study a rare vascular
disease called Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome (KTS). KTS is a circulatory
disorder characterized by varicose veins, abnormal thickening of
bones and soft tissues, and cutaneous capillary malformations
commonly called "purple wine stains."

By studying KTS patients, the team identified the first
gene VG5Q that increases the risk for KTS. VG5Q appears to be linked
to about 4 percent of KTS patients. Identification of the gene will
help physicians to make a definitive diagnosis in certain cases, Dr.
Wang said, which is important because KTS shares similar traits with
several other vascular conditions.

During their research, the team also found that KTS
patients with mutations of the VG5Q gene experienced increased blood
vessel formation. The researchers also found that purified VG5Q
protein is a potent angiogenic factor that promotes angiogenesis.
Finally, they found that blocking VG5Q expression prevents blood
vessel formation. It is this knowledge that may impact the
development of therapeutic strategies aimed at regulating blood
vessel growth. Several angiogenic factors already have been brought
to clinical trials to treat patients with myocardial or peripheral
ischemia and cancer.

Other Cleveland Clinic researchers who worked on the VG5Q
project include Xiaoli Tian, Raj Kadaba, Sun-Ah You, Mugen Liu, Anil
Timur, Qiuyun Chen, Ling Wu, Shaoqi Rao, Lin Yang and Paul DiCorleto,
chairman of the Clinic's Lerner Research Institute. Additional
collaborators included Dr. David Driscoll at Mayo Clinic, Julian
Borrow currently at Cancer Research UK, David E. Housman at MIT, and
Przemyslaw Szafranski at Baylor College of Medicine.

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, located in Cleveland,
Ohio, is a not-for-profit multispecialty academic medical center that
integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education.
The Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians
with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the
principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. U.S. News &
World Report consistently names The Cleveland Clinic as one of the
nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best
Hospitals"
survey. In 2003, The Cleveland Clinic is ranked fifth overall.
Approximately 1,200 full-time salaried physicians at The Cleveland
Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Florida represent more than 100 medical
specialties and subspecialties. In 2002, there were nearly 2.5
million outpatient visits to The Cleveland Clinic and more than
52,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every
state and from more than 90 countries. The Cleveland Clinic website
address is www.clevelandclinic.org.

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