The volume "Therapeutic Neovascularization: Quo Vadis?" picks up the current refinements in fundamental concept of neovascularization, which in the future might pave the way towards a new era of therapeutic applications. It meets an at times urgent need for treatment of patients who otherwise are not suitable for the established routines of percutaneous and surgical revascularization. At present most of the clinical trials initiated to promote neovascularization of ischemic myocardial or peripheral muscle tissue have failed to provide significant improvement of prespecified endpoints. This collection of manuscripts is selected to provide the most recent developments improving the auspices of successful revascularization therapy. Therefore, it covers sections such as the clinical challenge, novel mechanical and molecular concepts and cell therapy as an option, each composed of chapters written by experts in their fields. This collection of current and future concepts of neovascularization offers fascinating insights into refining a powerful therapeutic tool which has not yet had the chance to live up to the expectations and needs of the medical community. Indeed, the scientific modifications of a fundamentally sound concept will enable its applicability in the not so distant future. The condensed collection of current views on neovascularization is intended to speed up this process. This collection of current and future concepts of neovascularization offers fascinating insights into refining a powerful therapeutic tool which has not yet had the chance to live up to the expectations and needs of the medical community. It examines current refinements in the fundamental concept of neovascularization and describes the most recent developments, which in the future might pave the way towards a new era of therapeutic applications. Preface vii List of Contributors ix Part 1: The Clinical Challenge 1. Clinical Vascular Growth Factor Therapy for Neovascularization in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease 1 Jens Kastrup 2. The Strengths and Weaknesses of VEGF Adenovirus-Driven Angiogenesis 23 Petra Korpisalo, Tuomas T. Rissanen and Seppo Yl erttuala 3. Angiogenesis and Arteriogenesis in Diabetes Mellitus: Signal Transduction Defects as the Molecular Basis of Vascular Cell Dysfunction 33 Vadim Tchaikovski and Johannes Waltenberger 4. Endothelial Activation and Neointimal Hyperplasia: A Double-Edged Sword 75 R. Khurana and M. Simons Part 2: Novel Mechanical and Molecular Concepts 5. Pampering and Priming the Heart 85 M.J. Post, R.N.M. Cornelussen and F.W. Prinzen 6. Coronary Venous Retroinfusion: A Novel Venue of Regional Induction of Neovascularization 109 Peter Boekstegers and Christian Kupatt 7. Integrative Pro-angiogenic Activation: HIF-1? 123 Karen A. Vincent and Ralph A. Kelly 8. The Maturation of Vessels A Limitation to Forced Neovascularization? 139 A. Banfi, P. Fueglistaler and R. Gianni-Barrera 9. Vascular and Neuronal Development: Intersecting Parallelisms and Crossroads 159 Serena Zacchigna, Carmen Ruiz de Almodovar, Peggy Lafuste and Peter Carmeliet 10. Cathelicidin Antimicrobial Peptides Modulate Angiogenesis 191 Rembert Koczulla and Robert Bals Part 3: Cell Therapy as an Option 11. The Biology of Embryonic and Adult Endothelial Progenitor Cells 197 Mathias Lamparter and Antonis K. Hatzopoulos 12. Signaling Behind Progenitor Cell Mobilization: Focus on eNOS and Caveolin 215 Olivier Feron 13. The Role of Monocytes/Macrophages and Vascular Resident Precursor Cells in Collateral Growth 227 Wulf D. Ito Index 257