BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Endostatin for fibrosis

June 28, 2012 7:00 AM UTC

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers have shown that a compound derived from endostatin prevented and reversed organ fibrosis in mice.1 The findings may suggest a new use for endostatin, which is approved in China as an antiangiogenic agent to treat cancer.

Endostatin is a fragment of the C-terminus of collagen XVIII. In 1996, EntreMed Inc. began developing endostatin, and preclinical results showed the fragment inhibited endothelial cell proliferation and tumor growth.2...