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 The process of new blood vessel growth from the existing vasculature known as angiogenesis occurs in both health and disease as a mechanism to supply surrounding tissue with the necessary exchange of nutrients and metabolites. One of the key components in sprouting angiogenesis is the proliferation, migration, and signaling changes that occur in endothelial cells. The Notch signaling pathway has been identified as a key regulator to control angiogenesis, but the mechanisms are complex and not fully defined.

Small GTPases, also known as small G-proteins, are a large family of regulatory factors with roles in virtually all cellular processes. They essentially act as molecular switches, adopting either GDP-bound inactive (“off”) or GTP-bound active (“on”) states, through structural changes induced by the presence or absence of the γ-phosphate group of GTP. In humans, the small GTPase family contains approximately 150 members, and is further classified into five subfamilies—Ras, Rho, Arf, Rab, and Ran—based on their sequence and structure.