by Cindy Abole, Public Relations

Dr. Chris Drake looks over the shoulder of research technician Mandy Camlin as she reviews a slide for vascular development using a sample quail embryo.

As Chris Drake, Ph.D., and his team of researchers inch toward a better understanding of the body's vascular system, their work is developing improved treatments for an array of diseases, including cancer.

Drake, an assistant professor in the MUSC Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, studies the formation of blood vessels, a discipline called vasculogenesis, by investigating the development of the vessels in mice and bird embryos.

"Every science has its day in the sun," Drake said. "Vascular biology has come into its own in recent years. It's a good time to do research in this area."

Drake's work is following the lead of surgeon and cell biologist Judah Folkman, M.D., of Children's Hospital in Boston. For a number of years, Folkman has pursued an anti-cancer strategy based on the premise that cancers cannot grow and spread unless they signal nearby blood vessels to grow a network of tributaries to vascularize a tumor or cancerous mass.

Tumors achieve this by distorting the normal process of new blood vessel formation (angiogenesis), which occurs in human development like the menses cycle in women and wound-healing events. Recently Folkman demonstrated that two anti-vascular proteins, angiostatin and endostatin, are effective in inhibiting the growth and metastasis of tumors.

Drake, who received his doctorate at MUSC in 1995, is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health and by a recent award from the American Heart Association. His work differs from that of Folkman in the fine detail of how tumors recruit new blood vessels. He believes that although Folkman's strategy is on target, the source of the new blood vessels may not be solely from angiogenesis, but rather from a more obscure neovascular process called vasculogenesis. In vasculogen-esis, new blood vessels are formed from primitive cells, while in angiogenesis new vessels arise from preexisting blood vessels. This is the focus of his work in collaboration with department colleague Charles D. Little, professor of cell biology and anatomy.

The vasculogenic theory of tumor vessel formation received a boost in popularity recently with the spring publication of an article in Science by researcher Jeffrey Isner of St. Elizabeth's in Boston. Data presented in this study also suggests that primitive cells—cells which circulate in the blood may form the vessels necessary for tumor growth through vasculogenesis. This work suggests that primitive cells—cells which circulate in the blood—may form the vessels necessary for tumor growth through vasculogenesis. Drake studies the basics of vasculogenesis as it relates to the early formation and development of blood vessels. The strategy used in his research is simple. Substances that are believed to regulate the formation of new blood vessels are micro-injected into extremely young bird and mouse embryos. Researchers then monitor the effects on vascular development, using imaging systems that allow them to visualize the entire vascular system of the embryo. Taking advantage of recent advances in molecular biology, Drake is also examining a number of transgenic mice in which genes that are essential to blood vessel formation have been altered. These organisms are extremely useful in vascular research because they possess critical genes related to human vascular development. “I think that the work we are doing in embryos will provide new insights and strategies that will work to deny the tumor access to a blood supply,” said Drake. “One thing that's neat about this work is that you get to look at the exquisite regulation of blood vessels within an organism. They don't just form anywhere.” Drake believes that the mechanisms controlling the assembly of the blood vessels of the embryo are also used to regulate vessel development in other bodily systems. He hopes his work will aid in the treatment of a number of diseases with a vascular component— diseases such as arthritis, ulcers, psoriasis and diseases affecting vision. Other research Drake is pursuing includes work aimed at understanding the formation of the blood vessels of the heart itself, specifically the coronary vessels. He foresees his research expanding to a level to include bioengineering and the development of artificial blood vessels which may provide dynamic results to cardiovascular patients within the next century.