Endothelial cells (ECs) line the interior surface of blood vessels and drive angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessel formation from existing blood vessels. Angiogenesis is thought to be a critical factor in tumor growth [1].
Angiogenesis occurs
through a complex, 3D process
of endothelial proliferation,
migration, and eventual
maturation into a blood vessel. Recently, EC metabolic activity has been shown to
be important to angiogenic sprouting [2]. For this
project, we decided to test two metabolic inhibitors,
namely 3PO and OGTi, in an endothelial tube formation
assay to determine their effects on angiogenesis. 3PO is
known to inhibit glycolytic activity, and OGTi decreases
protein O-GlcNAcylation through the hexosamine
biosynthetic pathway.
The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of
these two inhibitors and understand the use of these
inhibitory mechanisms in angiogenic sprouting in ECs.
