Vascular Biology & Cancer Lab

BV formation and maintenance is a tightly regulated process that is referred to as ‘Angiogenic Switch’ – a balance between ‘ON’ (positive) signals and ‘OFF’ (negative) signals. This ‘switch’ is triggered upon various physiological demands such as metabolic stress (nutrient or oxygen deprivation), mechanical stress (proliferative cells with greater energy demands), etc. Considering the significance BVs have in normal physiology and maintaining homeostasis, any dysregulation in the vascular network has life-threatening and far-reaching consequences such as the excessive formation of BVs in many cancers or limited and dysfunctional BVs in ischemic diseases (stroke, heart attack, etc.).  

BVs are the largest network and are the first organ to be constituted in our body. The vascular network is comprised of a closed-loop consisting of arteries, veins, and interconnecting capillaries. An adult body has a total vascular network (~16,000 km), which is far greater than the diameter of mother earth (12,742 km). A normal healthy cell in our body is always in the close vicinity of the nearest blood capillary within a range of 100 – 200 µm (diffusion limit of oxygen). BVs are the major source of oxygen, nutrients, and other trophic factors. Recent studies have shown that BVs are not just passive conduits with the sole role of material transport but are specialized depending on the organs they are localized with diverse and yet completely unexplored roles.