[Adenovirus mediate FGF receptor gene transfer inhibits accelerated graft arteriosclerosis in rat aortic transplants].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of adenovirus mediated fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor gene transfer in inhibition of accelerated graft arteriosclerosis (AGA) in rat aorta transplantation model. METHODS: The PCR product of rat sFGFR-1 cDNA was cloned into pCMV1-flag vector, then flag-sFGFR was cloned into pAdvs6a to construct recombinant vector pAv3flag-sFGFR1. The abdominal aorta was injected with buffer containing 5 x 10(9) pfu Adv3-sFGFR-1 and then resected in 30 DA rats. A section of abdominal aorta was resected in 30 PVG rats and the abdominal aorta of DA rats was transplanted. Av3-Nall and normal saline of the same volume were injected into the abdominal aortae of and rats as experimental controls and blank controls. Six rats were killed 5, 30, 60, and 90 days after the operation respectively. The transplanted aorta was harvested. RT-PCR was performed to detect the expression of sFGFR-1 gene with pCMV-Flag-sFGFR1 cDNA as positive control and the abdominal aorta RNA of non-transfected rats as negative control. Immunohistochemistry and HE staning were used to detect the localization and expression of sFGFR-1, and the morphology and cytology of the transplanted vessels. RESULTS: A construct encoding the FGFR1 ectodomain produced secreted sFGFR1 protein, which bound [(125)I]FGF-2 with high affinity and specificity, and inhibited FGF-2 stimulated 3T3 fibroblast proliferation in vitro. Gene transfer of sFGFR1 into rat aortic grafts, using an adenoviral vector, resulted in expression of sFGFR1 protein in endothelium and adventitia. Neointimal formation 60 and 90 days after transplantation was inhibited (P = 0.013) in aortic allograft transduced with sFGFR1, compared to allograft transduced with Null virus and saline. CONCLUSION: FGFs play a causal role in the development of AGA in the rat aortic transplant model and postulate that targeted interruption of FGF function could similarly reduce neointimal formation in transplant setting.