The angiopoietins are protein growth factors that promote angiogenesis, the formation of blood vessels from pre-existing blood vessels. There are now four identified angiopoietins: Ang1, Ang2, Ang3, Ang4. In addition, there are a number of proteins that are closely related to angiopoietins (ANGPTL2, ANGPTL3, ANGPTL4, ANGPTL5, ANGPTL6, ANGPTL7). Ang1 and Ang2 are required for the formation of mature blood vessels, as demonstrated by mouse knock out studies.