AGONISTIC AND ANTAGONISTIC PEPTIDE MIMETICS OF THE VEGF ALPHA-HELIX BINDING REGION FOR USE IN THERAPY

摘要

The present invention is related to the use of compounds which bind to the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptors and modulate the angiogenic response. The compounds, which mimic the VEGF amino acid region 17-25 involved in receptor recognition thereby inhibiting or stimulating the angiogenic process, can be used in the treatment of diseases characterized by excessive or defective angiogenesis VEGF-dependent, such as chronic ischemia, cancer, proliferative retinopathy and rheumatoid arthritis, states or conditions benefiting from the formation or regeneration of new vessels, as well as in the diagnosis of pathologies which present a overexpression of VEGF receptors or as biochemical tools to analyze the cellular pathways dependent on VEGF receptor activation.