Steroid-refractory acute graft-vs-host disease (aGVHD) remains a frequent and often
fatal complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Recent evidence
suggests that angiogenic factors—growth factors that contribute to blood vessel development—may
be involved in tissue healing and restitution after inflammatory insults such as aGVHD.
However, some angiogenic factors may also be involved in inflammation and worsen clinical
outcomes. In this review, we summarize the data relevant to angiogenic factors that
may contribute to healing after aGVHD (epidermal growth factor and vascular endothelial
growth factor A) and angiogenic factors that may promote inflammation after aGVHD
(placental growth factor and follistatin). It is currently unknown whether changes
in these factors are a cause or a consequence of aGVHD. Mechanistic studies in the
coming years will clarify their roles and identify new pathways for improving outcomes
in steroid-refractory aGVHD.
Abbreviations:
aGVHD (acute GraftVSHost Disease), CR (Complete response), EGF (Epidermal growth factor), EGFR (The EGF receptor), FS (Follistatin), GI (Gastrointestinal), HCT (Hematopoietic Cell transplantation), IL (Interleukin), ILC2 (Innante Lymphoid type 2 cells), ILCs (Innate Lymphoid cells), IV (Intravenous), PLGF (Placental growth factor), TNF-a (Tumor necrosis factor alpha), Treg (Regulatory T Cells), VEGF-A (Vascular endothelial growth fact A)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 09, 2015
Accepted:
June 1,
2015
Received in revised form:
May 25,
2015
Received:
March 26,
2015
Identification
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© 2016 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
