Our findings indicate that Int6 act as a hypoxia-independent master switch of angiogenesis in neuronal cells, and that inhibition of Int6 by siRNA may be an effective therapeutic strategy in treating ischemic diseases such as brain ischemia and injury.
We suggest that the pathway involving INT6/HIF2alpha acts as a hypoxia-independent master switch of functional angiogenesis; therefore, siRNA-Int6 application might be of clinical value in treating ischemic diseases such as heart and brain ischemia, skin injury, and diseases involving obstructed vessels.
These results indicate that Int6 is a novel and critical determinant of HIF-2 alpha-dependent angiogenesis as well as cancer formation, and that int6-siRNA transfer may be an effective therapeutic strategy in pathological conditions such as heart and brain ischemia, hepatic cirrhosis, and obstructive vessel diseases.