“…During physiological angiogenesis, an increase in VEGF expression stimulates endothelial cell (EC) tube formation and increased microvessel density (3,16,39). Hypoxia is known to produce an angiogenic response, and heightened levels of VEGF-A have been seen in oxygendeprived epithelial, endothelial, and bone marrow cells (13,16,40,51,57). Hypoxic conditions increase levels of hypoxiainducible factor 1␣ (HIF-1␣), which in turn upregulates VEGF-A expression by binding to a hypoxia response element (51,57,61).…”