The expression of AGGF1, FOXC2, and E-cadherin in esophageal carcinoma and their clinical significance.

Angiogenic factor with G-patch and FHA domain 1 (AGGF1) is a newly initiator of angiogenesis. Forkhead box C2 (FOXC2) that is a member of the winged spiral transcription factor family plays an important role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Epithelial-cadherin (E-cad) that is an adhesion molecule is also involved in EMT. The purpose of this study is to investigate the expression of AGGF1, FOXC2, and E-cad in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and their clinical significance.Immunohistochemistry was performed to investigate the expression of AGGF1, FOXC2, and E-cad in 170 ESCC specimens and corresponding normal esophageal mucosa tissues. Follow-up data was also collected.The positive rates of AGGF1 and FOXC2 expression were significantly higher in ESCC group when compared with the control group; the positive rate of E-cad expression was significantly lower in ESCC group when compared with the control group. Positive rates of AGGF1, FOXC2, and E-cad expression were significantly associated with grades of differentiation, tumor grades, lymph node metastasis stages, as well as tumor-node-metastasis stages. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that positive expression of AGGF1 or FOXC2 for ESCC patients had significantly unfavorably overall survival time when compared with patients with negative expression of AGGF1 or FOXC2; and positive expression of E-cad for ESCC patients had significantly longer overall survival time when compared with patients with negative expression of E-cad. Multivariate analysis indicated that AGGF1, FOXC2, and E-cad expression and tumor-node-metastasis stages were postoperative independent prognostic factors for ESCC patients.AGGF1, FOXC2, and E-cad may be considered promising biomarkers of ESCC patients' prognosis.

Activity of the human immortalized endothelial progenitor cell line HEPC-CB.1 supporting in vitro angiogenesis.

The human HEPC-CB.1 cell line with many characteristics of endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) was tested for its proangiogenic properties as a potentially therapeutic compound. HEPC-CB.1 cells' potential to differentiate into endothelial cells was revealed after treating the cells with a mixture of ATRA, cAMP and VEGF, as shown by the reduced expression levels of CD133, CD271 and CD90 antigens, augmentation of CD146 and CD31, and a decrease in cell clonogenicity. The cooperation of HEPC-CB.1 with the endothelial cell line HSkMEC.2 resulted in the formation of a common network. Tube formation was significantly more effective when resulting from HEPC-CB.1 and HSkMEC.2 cell co-culture as compared to a monoculture of each cell line. The exocrine mechanism of HEPC-CB.1 and HSkMEC.2 cross talk by secreted factors was evidenced using the HEPC-CB.1 supernatant to increase the efficacy of HSkMEC.2 tube formation. The proangiogenic factors produced by HEPC-CB.1 were identified using cytokine antibody array. Out of 120 examined factors, the HEPC-CB.1 cell line produced 63, some with known angiogenic activity. As in vivo the angiogenic process occurs at low oxygen tension, it was observed that in hypoxia, the production of defined factors was augmented. The presented results demonstrate that HEPC-CB.1 cells are able to both cooperate and integrate in a newly formed network and produce factors that help the network formation. The results suggest that HEPC-CB.1 cells are indeed endothelial progenitors and may prove to be an effective tool in regenerative medicine.

Significance of Angiogenic Growth Factors in Bovine Ocular Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Bovine ocular squamous cell carcinoma (BOSCC) is the most common and economically significant neoplasm of the eye in cattle. This study investigated the role of angiogenic growth factors in the pathogenesis of BOSCC. Eighteen cases of BOSCC were classified histopathologically according to the degree of differentiation. Normal upper and lower eyelids and third eyelids collected from the right and left eyes of six healthy cattle aged 1-3 years, that had been presented for slaughter to abattoirs, served as controls. Transcription of genes encoding the angiogenic growth factors vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platelet-derived growth factor-C (PDGF-C) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α (PDGFR-α) was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in tissue obtained from paraffin wax blocks. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was utilized to detect intensity of expression and tissue distribution of these growth factors. IHC results revealed that bFGF and PDGF-C were elevated significantly (P >0.05) and VEGF-C expression was decreased in BOSCC compared with healthy control tissue. PDGR-α expression was elevated; however, the difference, compared with control tissues, was not significant. RT-PCR results showed an inverse relationship to the results of IHC; where protein levels were elevated their corresponding mRNA levels were decreased or vice-versa. Angiogenic regulators therefore appear to play a role in the pathogenesis of BOSCC.

A Short Bout of Exercise Prior to Stroke Improves Functional Outcomes by Enhancing Angiogenesis.

Stroke remains a significant unmet clinical need with limited therapeutic options. The peculiar feature of ischemic stroke is the interruption in brain circulation, resulting in a cascade of detrimental cerebrovasculature alterations. Treatment strategies designed to maintain potency of the cerebrovasculature may protect against stroke. The present study assessed the effects of short bouts of exercise prior to stroke induction and characterized cerebral blood flow and motor functions in vivo. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to a single short bout of exercise (30-min or 60-min forced running wheel) then subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Non-exercise stroke rats served as controls while non-stroke rats represented shams. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was evaluated by laser Doppler at baseline (prior to MCAO), during MCAO, and during reperfusion. Behavioral tests using the elevated body swing test was conducted at baseline, day 0 (day of stroke), and at days 1 and 3 after stroke. Animals that received exercise displayed typical alterations in CBF after stroke, but exhibited improved motor performance compared to non-exercise rats. Exercised stroke rats showed a reduction in infarct size and an increased number of surviving cells in the peri-infarct area, with a trend towards prolonged duration of the exercise. Immunofluorescence staining and Western blot analysis of the peri-infarct area revealed increased levels of endothelial markers/angiogenesis markers, VEGF, VEGFR-2, and Ang-2, and endothelial progenitor cell marker CD34+ in exercise groups compared with the controls. These results demonstrated that prophylactic exercise affords neuroprotection possibly by improving cerebrovascular potency.

Hypoxia Inducible Factor Expression and Angiogenesis - Analysis in the Pituitary Gland and Patterns of Death.

BACKGROUND/AIM: We investigated the expression of angiogenesis and hypoxia markers in the adenohypophysis and neurohypophysis of patients who died from various acute or chronic diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Paraffin-embedded material of pituitary glands (97 patients) was investigated immunohistochemically for vascular density (CD31) and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and of hypoxia inducible factors HIF1α and HIF2α. RESULTS: Vascular density, and HIF1α/HIF2α reactivity is directly related with VEGF expression in the pituitary gland, suggesting that the HIF pathway may regulate the vascular density and blood flow in the gland under hypoxic conditions. HIF2α appears to be a key regulator in neurohypophysis, whilst in adenohypophysis HIF1α and HIF2α are equally expressed. Chronic conditions, including alcoholism and substance abuse, seem to activate the HIF pathway in both neuro- and adeno-hypophysis. CONCLUSION: The HIF pathway has an important role in regulating vascular density and blood flow in the pituitary gland.

Angiogenic Growth Factors for Coronary Artery Disease: Current Status and Prospects.

Although there have been advances in coronary artery bypass grafting and percutaneous coronary intervention, some patients who have ischemic coronary artery disease (CAD) are ineligible for revascularization due to suboptimal anatomy. Cardiac angiogenesis is not only a physiological response to ischemia or hypoxia but also a potential target of therapeutic strategies. Preclinical studies have shown a great enthusiasm on therapeutic angiogenesis for ischemic CAD. However, the latest trials provided the limited evidence on its efficacy. This article aims to discuss the physiological process of angiogenesis, the characteristic of angiogenic growth factors, delivery system, and clinical and preclinical studies, which can provide a novel insight into the therapeutic angiogenesis for CAD.

Metabolically conditioned media derived from bone marrow stromal cells or human skin fibroblasts act as effective chemoattractants for mesenchymal stem cells.

BACKGROUND: The main goal of bone tissue engineering has been the generation of healthy bone in order to replace affected tissue. Therefore, optimized biomaterials are needed which allow the survival and growth of mesenchymal stem cells. Until now the key challenge in the clinical application of cell-based tissue engineering bone implants was poor diffusion of oxygen into the tissue, making functional blood vessel networks a necessity. With their ability to evolve into different cell types, to expand extensively in vitro, and to release paracrine soluble factors, bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) are highly attractive for tissue engineering. During the last years hypoxia became a proven method to control proliferation, differentiation, and pluripotency of BMSC. Here we applied different methods to characterize metabolically conditioned media (MCM) in comparison to hypoxia conditioned media (HCM) and evaluated their ability to attract BMSC in 2-D migration assays. METHODS: BMSC and fibroblasts of human origin were isolated and cultivated to obtain HCM and MCM. Both media were characterized by angiogenesis arrays, cytokine arrays, and ELISA for selected factors. 2-D migration tests were performed with Corning Transwell®-96 permeable support chambers with porous polyester membranes with a pore size of 8.0 µm. RESULTS: Characterization of HCM and MCM revealed that the concentration of angiogenic factors was higher in MCM than in HCM. However, the chemoattractive capacity of MCM for BMSC was equivalent to that of HCM. HCM and MCM produced by human skin fibroblasts attracted human BMSC as efficiently as HCM and MCM produced by human BMSC. CONCLUSIONS: HCM and MCM have a high chemoattractive capacity for BMSC. Both conditioned media harbor high concentrations of angiogenic factors which are important for angiogenesis and cell migration. Both chemoattracting conditioned media can also be derived from skin fibroblasts which can easily be obtained from patients in individualized therapy approaches.

Histone Deacetylase 1 Depletion Activates Human Cardiac Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Proangiogenic Paracrine Signaling Through a Mechanism Requiring Enhanced Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Synthesis and Secretion.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac mesenchymal cell (CMC) administration improves cardiac function in animal models of heart failure. Although the precise mechanisms remain unclear, transdifferentiation and paracrine signaling are suggested to underlie their cardiac reparative effects. We have shown that histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) inhibition enhances CMC cardiomyogenic lineage commitment. Here, we investigated the impact of HDAC1 on CMC cytokine secretion and associated paracrine-mediated activities on endothelial cell function. METHODS AND RESULTS: CMCs were transduced with shRNA constructs targeting HDAC1 (shHDAC1) or nontarget (shNT) control. Cytokine arrays were used to assess the expression of secreted proteins in conditioned medium (CM) from shHDAC1 or shNT-transduced CMCs. In vitro functional assays for cell proliferation, protection from oxidative stress, cell migration, and tube formation were performed on human endothelial cells incubated with CM from the various treatment conditions. CM from shHDAC1-transduced CMCs contained more cytokines involved in cell growth/differentiation and more efficiently promoted endothelial cell proliferation and tube formation compared with CM from shNT. After evaluating key cytokines previously implicated in cell-therapy-mediated cardiac repair, we found that basic fibroblast growth factor was significantly upregulated in shHDAC1-transduced CMCs. Furthermore, shRNA-mediated knockdown of basic fibroblast growth factor in HDAC1-depleted CMCs inhibited the effects of shHDAC1 CM in promoting endothelial proliferation and tube formation-indicating that HDAC1 depletion activates CMC proangiogenic paracrine signaling in a basic fibroblast growth factor-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: These results reveal a hitherto unknown role for HDAC1 in the modulation of CMC cytokine secretion and implicate the targeted inhibition of HDAC1 in CMCs as a means to enhance paracrine-mediated neovascularization in cardiac cell therapy applications.

High Expression of Angiogenic Factor with G-Patch and FHA Domain1 (AGGF1) Predicts Poor Prognosis in Gastric Cancer.

BACKGROUND Angiogenic factor with G-patch and FHA domain1 (AGGF1 or VG5Q) is a newly identified human angiogenic factor. The aim of this study was to explore AGGF1 expression level in gastric cancer and detect its correlation with the prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect AGGF1 level in gastric cancer and its adjacent noncancerous samples of 198 cases, and the relationships among the expression levels of AGGF1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and prognosis were analyzed. RESULTS Expression of AGGF1 in gastric cancer samples was significantly higher than that in adjacent noncancerous samples (P<0.001). The overall survival rate (OS) of patients with high AGGF1 expression was significantly lower than that of patients with low AGGF1 expression (P=0.000). The Cox model analysis demonstrated that expression of AGGF1 was an independent biomarker for prediction of patients' survival in gastric cancer. CONCLUSIONS High expression of AGGF1 predicts poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients. AGGF1 can be used as an independent factor to predict postoperative survival of patients with gastric cancer.

Haploinsufficiency of Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome gene Aggf1 inhibits developmental and pathological angiogenesis by inactivating PI3K and AKT and disrupts vascular integrity by activating VE-cadherin.

Aggf1 is the first gene identified for Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS), and encodes an angiogenic factor. However, the in vivo roles of Aggf1 are incompletely defined. Here we demonstrate that Aggf1 is essential for both physiological angiogenesis and pathological tumour angiogenesis in vivo. Two lines of Aggf1 knockout (KO) mice showed a particularly severe phenotype as no homozygous embryos were observed and heterozygous mice also showed embryonic lethality (haploinsufficient lethality) observed only for Vegfa and Dll4. Aggf1+/- KO caused defective angiogenesis in yolk sacs and embryos. Survived adult heterozygous mice exhibit frequent haemorrhages and increased vascular permeability due to increased phosphorylation and reduced membrane localization of VE-cadherin. AGGF1 inhibits VE-cadherin phosphorylation, increases plasma membrane VE-cadherin in ECs and in mice, blocks vascular permeability induced by ischaemia-reperfusion (IR), restores depressed cardiac function and contraction, reduces infarct sizes, cardiac fibrosis and necrosis, haemorrhages, edema, and macrophage density associated with IR. Mechanistically, AGGF1 promotes angiogenesis by activating catalytic p110α subunit and p85α regulatory subunit of PI3K, leading to activation of AKT, GSK3ß and p70S6K. AKT activation is significantly reduced in heterozygous KO mice and isolated KO ECs, which can be rescued by exogenous AGGF1. ECs from KO mice show reduced capillary angiogenesis, which is rescued by AGGF1 and AKT. Tumour growth/angiogenesis is reduced in heterozygous mice, which was associated with reduced activation of p110α, p85α and AKT. Together with recent identification of somatic mutations in p110α (encoded by PIK3CA), our data establish a potential mechanistic link between AGGF1 and PIK3CA, the two genes identified for KTS.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A Regulates the Secretion of Different Angiogenic Factors in Lung Cancer Cells.

Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) is one of the main mediators of angiogenesis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recently, it has been described an autocrine feed-forward loop in NSCLC cells in which tumor-derived VEGFA promoted the secretion of VEGFA itself, amplifying the proangiogenic signal. In order to investigate the role of VEGFA in lung cancer progression, we assessed the effects of recombinant VEGFA on proliferation, migration, and secretion of other angiogenic factors in A549, H1975, and HCC827 NSCLC cell lines. We found that VEGFA did not affect NSCLC cell proliferation and migration. On the other hand, we demonstrated that VEGFA not only produced a strong and persistent increase of VEGFA itself but also significantly induced the secretion of a variety of angiogenic factors, including follistatin (FST), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), angiopoietin-2 (ANGPT2), granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), interleukin (IL)-8, leptin (LEP), platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 (PECAM-1), and platelet-derived growth factor bb (PDGF-BB). PI3K/AKT, RAS/ERK, and STAT3 signalling pathways were found to mediate the effects of VEGFA in NSCLC cell lines. We also observed that VEGFA regulation mainly occurred at post-transcriptional level and that NSCLC cells expressed different isoforms of VEGFA. Collectively, our data suggested that VEGFA contributes to lung cancer progression by inducing a network of angiogenic factors, which might offer potential for therapeutic intervention.

Phase I study of multi-gene cell therapy in patients with peripheral artery disease.

UNLABELLED: Alternative treatment strategies for claudication are needed and cell-based therapies designed to induce angiogenesis are promising. The purpose of this report was to conduct a Phase I safety, dose-escalating, non-randomized, open-label study of autologous, fully differentiated venous endothelial and smooth muscle cells called MultiGeneAngio (MGA) for claudication due to peripheral artery disease. Twelve subjects, at two centers, received a single intra-arterial infusion of a suspension of equal amounts of transduced autologous venous smooth muscle cells expressing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF165) and endothelial cells expressing angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) (Cohort 1: 1 × 10(7), Cohort 2: 2 × 10(7), Cohort 3: 5 × 10(7), Cohort 4: 7 × 10(7)). The treatment was given unblinded and in the more symptomatic lower extremity. Transduced cells were tested for in vitro doubling time, telomerase activity, and gene expression. The main outcomes were clinical safety and tolerability. Other safety measures included ankle-brachial index (ABI) and walking time on a treadmill. All subjects were male (mean age 60 ± 5 years) including 25% with diabetes mellitus. At 1-year follow-up, there was one serious adverse event possibly related to MGA. Safety endpoints including VEGF and Ang-1 plasma protein levels were within normal ranges in all subjects. The mean maximal walking time increased from baseline to 1 year and the index limb ABI was unchanged, indicating no safety concerns. MGA, an autologous, transduced, cell-based therapy was well tolerated and safe in this Phase I study. Further evaluation is warranted in randomized human studies. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00390767.

Nuclear vasohibin-2 promotes cell proliferation by inducing G0/G1 to S phase progression.

As a member of the vasohibin (VASH2) family, VASH2 is localized intracellularly as a nuclear and cytoplasmic type. Cytoplasmic VASH2 is associated with carcinoma angiogenesis and malignant transformation and promotes cancer growth. However, the function of nuclear VASH2 has yet to be investigated. The aim of the present study was to detect the nuclear VASH2 expression profile in human organs and tissues by protein microarray technique. To examine the function of nuclear VASH2, we analyzed the relationship between nuclear VASH2 and Ki-67, and stably constructed VASH2 overexpression and knockdown in LO2 and HepG2 cell lines, based on a previous study in hepatic cells. The study was conducted using bromodeoxyuridine, immunofluorescent staining, western blot analysis and flow cytometry. Nuclear VASH2 was highly expressed in actively dividing cells in normal and cancer tissues. There was a significant positive correlation between nuclear VASH2 and Ki-67, indicating that nuclear VASH2 positively correlated with cell proliferation in normal and cancer tissues. The bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) proliferation test showed that nuclear VASH2 increased the S-phase population and promoted cell proliferation, while VASH2 knockdown reduced BrdU absorbance. Cell cycle analysis revealed that nuclear VASH2 overexpression increased the S-phase population in LO2 and HepG2 cells, while nuclear VASH2 knockdown reduced the S-phase population and increased the G0/G1 population. The findings of this study challenge the classic view of VASH2, which was previously reported as an angiogenesis factor. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, these results are the first clinical data indicating that nuclear VASH2, but not cytoplasmic VASH2, promotes cell proliferation by driving the cell cycle from the G0/G1 to S phase.

Suppressed inflammatory gene expression during human hypertrophic scar compared to normotrophic scar formation.

Hypertrophic scar formation is a result of adverse cutaneous wound healing. The pathogenesis of hypertrophic scar formation is still poorly understood. A problem next to the lack of suitable animal models is that often normal skin is compared to hypertrophic scar (HTscar) and not to normotrophic scar (NTscar) tissue. Another drawback is that often only one time period after wounding is studied, while scar formation is a dynamic process over a period of several months. In this study, we compared the expression of genes involved in inflammation, angiogenesis and extracellular matrix (ECM) formation and also macrophage infiltration in biopsies obtained before and up to 52 weeks after standard surgery in five patients who developed HTscar and six patients who developed NTscar. It was found that HTscar formation coincided with a prolonged decreased expression of inflammatory genes (TNFα, IL-1α, IL-1RN, CCL2, CCL3, CXCL2, CXCR2, C3 and IL-10) and an extended increased expression of ECM-related genes (PLAU, Col3A1, TGFß3). This coincided with a delayed but prolonged infiltration of macrophages (type 2) in HTscar tissue compared to NTscar tissue. These findings were supported by immunohistochemical localization of proteins coding for select genes named above. Our study emphasizes that human cutaneous wound healing is a dynamic process that is needed to be studied over a period of time rather than a single point of time. Taken together, our results suggest innate immune stimulatory therapies may be a better option for improving scar quality than the currently used anti-inflammatory scar therapies.

Adipose-derived stromal cell cluster with light therapy enhance angiogenesis and skin wound healing in mice.

Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hASCs) are attractive cell source for skin tissue engineering. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of low-level light therapy (LLLT) on transplanted cluster hASC in a skin wound animal model. The hASCs were cultured in monolayer or clusters. The LLLT, hASCs, hASC clusters, and hASC clusters transplantation with LLLT (cluster + LLLT) were applied to the wound bed in athymic mice. Wound healing was assessed by gross evaluation and by hematoxylin and eosin staining, and elastin van gieson histochemistry. The survival, differentiation, and secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) of the cluster ASC were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. The cluster + LLLT group enhanced the wound healing, including neovascularization and regeneration of skin appendages, compared with the cluster group. The secretion of growth factors was stimulated in the cluster + LLLT group compared with the ASCs and cluster group. These data suggest that LLLT is an effective biostimulator of cluster hASCs in wound healing that enhances the survival of hASCs and stimulates the secretion of growth factors in the wound bed.

Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Mononuclear Cells Exhibit Pericyte-Like Phenotype and Support Network Formation of Endothelial Progenitor Cells In Vitro.

Umbilical cord blood represents a promising cell source for pro-angiogenic therapies. The present study examined the potential of mononuclear cells (MNCs) from umbilical cord blood to support endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) microvessel formation. MNCs were isolated from the cord blood of 20 separate donors and selected for further characterization based upon their proliferation potential and morphological resemblance to human vascular pericytes (HVPs). MNCs were screened for their ability to support EPC network formation using an in vitro assay (Matrigel™) as well as a reductionist, coculture system consisting of no additional angiogenic cytokines beyond those present in serum. In less than 15% of the isolations, we identified a population of highly proliferative MNCs that phenotypically resembled HVPs as assessed by expression of PDGFR-ß, NG2, α-SMA, and ephrin-B2. Within a Matrigel™ system, MNCs demonstrated pericyte-like function through colocalization to EPC networks and similar effects as HVPs upon total EPC tubule length (p = 0.95) and number of branch points (p = 0.93). In a reductionist coculture system, MNCs served as pro-angiogenic mural cells by supporting EPC network formation to a significantly greater extent than HVP cocultures, by day 14 of coculture, as evidenced through EPC total tubule length (p < 0.0001) and number of branch points (p < 0.0001). Our findings are significant as we demonstrate mural cell progenitors can be isolated from umbilical cord blood and develop culture conditions to support their use in microvascular tissue engineering applications.

Cooperation between human fibrocytes and endothelial colony-forming cells increases angiogenesis via the CXCR4 pathway.

Fibrotic diseases of the lung are associated with a vascular remodelling process. Fibrocytes (Fy) are a distinct population of blood-borne cells that co-express haematopoietic cell antigens and fibroblast markers, and have been shown to contribute to organ fibrosis. The purpose of this study was to determine whether fibrocytes cooperate with endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFC) to induce angiogenesis. We isolated fibrocytes from blood of patient with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and characterised them by flow cytometry, quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (RTQ-PCR), and confocal microscopy. We then investigated the angiogenic interaction between fibrocytes and cord-blood-derived ECFC, both in vitro and in an in vivo Matrigel implant model. Compared to fibroblast culture medium, fibrocyte culture medium increased ECFC proliferation and differentiation via the SDF-1/CXCR4 pathway. IPF-Fy co-implanted with human ECFC in Matrigel plugs in immunodeficient mice formed functional microvascular beds, whereas fibroblasts did not. Evaluation of implants after two weeks revealed an extensive network of erythrocyte-containing blood vessels. CXCR4 blockade significantly inhibited this blood vessel formation. The clinical relevance of these data was confirmed by strong CXCR4 expression in vessels close to fibrotic areas in biopsy specimens from patients with IPF, by comparison with control lungs. In conclusion, circulating fibrocytes might contribute to the intense remodelling of the pulmonary vasculature in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Clinical effectiveness of gene therapy on critical limb ischemia: a meta-analysis of 5 randomized controlled clinical trials.

Therapeutic angiogenesis using gene therapy is a novel strategy for the treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI). We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gene therapy for the treatment of CLI with no option of revascularization. Randomized placebo controlled trials of gene therapy on CLI were identified by searching PubMed (from 1990 to October 2013) and EMBASE (from 1990 to October 2013). Five eligible studies were selected for the meta-analysis. Among these studies, a total of 425 patients received gene therapy of either fibroblast growth factor 1 or hepatocyte growth factor, and 365 patients were given placebo. No statistical differences were observed between the 2 groups in major amputation or death at 1 year (risk ratio [RR], 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51-1.39; P = .48) and wound healing at 6 months (RR, 1.55; 95% CI, 0.73-3.28; P = .25). Gene therapy had similar occurrence of serious adverse events as control (RR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.97-1.14; P = .23).

Xenogenic transplantation of human breast adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction enhances recovery of erectile function in diabetic mice.

The adipose tissue-derived stromal vascular fraction (SVF) is an ideal source of stem and stromal cells. The aim of this study was to examine whether and how xenogenic transplantation of human breast SVF restores erectile function in diabetic mice. Human SVF was isolated from five patients (age, 20-45 yr) undergoing reduction mammoplasty. Eight-week-old C57BL/6J mice were used, and diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. At 8 wk after induction of diabetes, the animals were randomly distributed into controls and diabetic mice treated with a single intracavernous injection of PBS, human SVF at different concentrations, or human SVF lysate. Two weeks later, erectile function was measured by cavernous nerve stimulation, and the penis was then harvested for biochemical examinations. Erectile function was significantly improved in diabetic mice treated with human SVF (2 × 10(5), 5 × 10(5), and 1 × 10(6) cells/20 µl) and SVF lysate. Human SVF treatment in diabetic mice significantly increased cavernous endothelial and smooth muscle cell contents, induced eNOS phosphorylation, and restored penile nNOS-positive nerve fibers. Human SVF lysate induced secretion of angiogenic factors and expression of their receptors. Human SVF did not increase serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines. A limitation of this study was that the exact composition of the human SVF was not examined. In summary, xenogenic transplantation of human SVF did not induce systemic inflammation and successfully improved erectile function in diabetic mice through enhanced penile angiogenesis and neural regeneration.

Expression of angiogenic factors is increased in metastasised renal cell carcinomas.

Clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCC) have aberrant signalling pathways which affect vascular endothelial growth factor and are related to increased tumour angiogenesis. Little is known about other angiogenesis-associated genes in primary tumours and metastases. Quantitative PCR of 45 angiogenesis-associated gene transcripts was performed on formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues from primary ccRCC (n = 18) and their metastases (n = 17; in 8/17 cases the corresponding primary tumour could be analysed). In metastases, a significant increase was found in the expression of 15 pro-angiogenic (such as prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 1) and also anti-angiogenic (such as TIMP metallopeptidase inhibitor 2) factors. Comparison of a primary with its metastasis performed on eight cases showed that even without preceding anti-angiogenic therapy in metastases expression of angiogenic factors is increased. In ccRCC, the effects of anti-angiogenic factors are superimposed by pro-angiogenic factors. Increased expression of angiogenic factors in metastases might be related to development of resistance after anti-angiogenic therapy but might also be an inherent biological characteristic.