ANGPT1 and acute respiratory distress syndrome: Since the original report by Witzenbichler and colleagues [11] in 2005, several studies have confirmed that activation of the non-redundant and endothelial-specific Tie2 receptor pathway by adenoviral overexpression of its agonist ligand Angpt1 (AdAngpt1) is sufficient to prevent endotoxemia-induced vascular leakage [8] and subsequent AKI [9] and ALI [5] in rodents.