The curse of angiopoietin-2 in ARDS: on stranger TI(E)des

Pulmonary inflammation and vascular leakage are hallmarks of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a life-threatening condition, for which there is no specific pharmacologic treatment. Recent literature suggests that leaky vessels in pulmonary infection and ARDS may be mediated through dysregulation of a non-redundant endothelial control pathway, the Tie2 receptor and its ligands, the angiopoietins. This Viewpoint summarizes results from cell-based experiments, animal models and clinical studies underlining the potential of Tie2 targeted interventions in reducing infection-mediated pulmonary hyperpermeability.