The mitogenic effect of 17beta-estradiol on in vitro endothelial cell proliferation and on in vivo reendothelialization are both dependent on vascular endothelial growth factor.

In addition to their actions on reproductive function, estrogens have important effects on endothelial cells. The present study was designed to evaluate the mechanism(s) by which 17beta-estradiol (E2) promotes endothelial cell proliferation. The potential involvement of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was investigated by the coadministration of polyclonal anti-VEGF antibody. First, the effect of E2 on the proliferation of cultured foetal bovine aortic endothelial cells (FBAEC) was studied. E2 stimulated this proliferation with an EC50 between 10(-11) and 10(-10) M and this effect was inhibited by the anti-VEGF antibody. The effect of a physiological dose of E2 was then studied in the rat model of carotid injury. After deendothelializing balloon injury, reendothelialization of the denuded surface may influence the growth of the underlying smooth muscle cells. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were castrated and then received E2 from subcutaneously implanted pellets that released 3.2 microg/kg/day. Endothelial regrowth (Evans blue staining) and neointimal thickening were evaluated 2 weeks after the carotid injury. In comparison to the placebo group, E2 increased the extent of reendothelialization (p = 0.0002) and reduced neointimal thickening (p = 0.0007). Anti-VEGF antibody abolished the effect of E2 on reendothelialization as well as on neointimal thickening. Thoracic aorta VEGF content was increased in E2-treated rats compared to control rats. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that E2 increases endothelial cell proliferation in vitro and reendothelialization in vivo by means of a mechanism dependent on endogenous VEGF. This effect could contribute to the antiatherogenic effect of a physiological dose of E2.

Vascular endothelial growth factor is up-regulated in vitro and in vivo by androgens.

Evidence from pathophysiological studies support the concept that embryonic development, tumor progression, and hormonally-regulated tissue masses such as adult prostate and corpus luteum are angiogenesis-dependent. We examined if the prostatic expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the major regulator of normal and pathological angiogenesis, was regulated by testosterone. Northern blot of VEGF messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) extracted from a human immortalized epithelial prostatic cell line (PNT1) showed that dihydrotestosterone (DHT) up-regulated VEGF mRNA at a level comparable to that observed upon exposure to growth factors. Polymerase chain reaction of reverse transcribed mRNA demonstrated that the ratio of the two splice variants encoding the 121 and 165 isoforms of VEGF were not affected by DHT. VEGF biological activity, measured in the conditioned medium by radio receptor assay, was increased by DHT. Injection of testosterone in adult rats induced a transient increase of the ventral lobe weight and the specific activity of prostatic VEGF, leading to a 7-fold increase in the prostate content of VEGF.

[Tumoral vascularization: physiopathology and therapeutic prospects]. / Vascularisation tumorale: physiopathologie et perspectives thérapeutiques.

The Folkman's hypothesis postulates that tumor or metastase development is angiogenesis dependent. Since 1971, several lines of experimental data have supported this hypothesis in particular during the past months. A better understanding of the functional balance existing between positive and negative regulators of endothelial cell proliferation has paved the way to new therapeutic prospects.

Vascular endothelial growth factor confers a growth advantage in vitro and in vivo to stromal cells cultured from neonatal hemangiomas.

Neonatal hemangioma is a common benign proliferation of unorganized structures containing stromal and capillary endothelial cells. We tested the hypothesis that such cell proliferation might result from the release by stromal cells of endothelial cell mitogens. Stromal cells cultured from biopsies of surgically removed life-threatening hemangiomas released an endothelial cell mitogen in vitro that was indistinguishable from vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) based on independent criteria such as affinity chromatography for heparin or anti-VEGF IgG and radioreceptor assay. A functional product of the KDR gene encoding a cognate VEGF receptor was also expressed by these stromal cells. Transient transfection with antisense oligonucleotides targeted on the translation initiation codon of KDR abolished its tyrosine phosphorylation and mitogenic response of neonatal hemangioma cells to VEGF, confirming the existence of an autocrine loop of proliferation. When grafted in nude mice, these stromal cells elicited an angiogenic response that was blocked by neutralizing anti-VEGF IgG. These results might provide a clue to the importance of stromal cells in the pathogeny of neonatal hemangiomas.