title: The proline analog L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid modifies the neovascularization pattern by inhibiting branching or tortuosity and stimulating spatial expansion in the rat mesentery.
abstract: The L-proline analog L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, LACA, systemically inhibited autogenous mast-cell-mediated angiogenesis in normal rats. LACA was injected s.c. at a dose of 100 mg/kg/day and the angiogenic response was assessed in the mesenteric windows. Angiogenesis was induced by the i.p. injection of a highly-selective activator of the mast cells in situ. At these concentrations, LACA appeared to be non-toxic since it affected neither the physiologic body-weight gain nor the mast-cell secretory capacity in the test tissue. The LACA-treatment markedly reduced (p < or = 0.01) microvascular formation in terms of the number of vessels per unit length of tissue (No/mm) but, at the same time, tended to stimulate the spatial expansion of the newly-formed vasculature in terms of the vascularized area (VA). Since No/mm is a measure that reflects the degree of branching, the degree of tortuosity and VA, the findings suggest that LACA inhibited branching/tortuosity and simultaneously stimulated the spatial expansion of the new microvasculature. The difference in response to LACA in terms of No/mm and VA was highly statistically-significant (p < or = 0.0001). The fact that an agent may affect neovascular branching/tortuosity and spatial extension in a distinctly contradictory fashion has not been reported previously.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Sahlgren Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Norrby
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001383:Azetidinecarboxylic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002196:Capillaries / Q000187:drug effects; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D006636:Histamine Release / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008643:Mesentery / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000187:drug effects; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D003189:p-Methoxy-N-methylphenethylamine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D003189:p-Methoxy-N-methylphenethylamine; D001383:Azetidinecarboxylic Acid; D003094:Collagen