Discovery of a New Mechanism and Development of Angiogenic Therapy That Accelerates Healing

The complete purification of the first angiogenic molecule, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), was carried out in the authors' laboratory in 1983. Application of this peptide to chronic wounds enhances angiogenesis and accelerates wound healing. The authors showed that an acid-stable form of bFGF (i.e., bFGF-CS23) could be administered orally to rats with duodenal ulcers. The peptide promoted a ninefold increase of angiogenesis in the ulcer...