title: Suppression of neointimal lesions after vascular injury: a role for polyclonal anti-basic fibroblast growth factor antibody.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a potent local promoter of vascular smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation and may play a major role in the pathogenesis of intimal fibromuscular lesions. Preliminary studies have shown that exogenous bFGF localizes to injured rabbit aorta and suggest that this interaction might be inhibited by anti-bFGF immunoglobulin (Ig) G. This study was designed to evaluate the possible role of polyclonal anti-bFGF IgG in reducing intimal fibromuscular lesion formation in the injured rabbit aorta.
  
  
  METHODS
  The abdominal aortic endothelium was subjected to balloon injury in 13 rabbits. Six rabbits received intravenous rabbit anti-bFGF IgG, and seven received irrelevant rabbit IgG (16 micrograms/kg) 30 minutes before injury and daily for 5 days after injury. At 14 days after injury the aorta was fixed and sectioned, and the intimal and medial areas were measured by computerized digital morphometry with the intimal/medial ratio as an index of neointimal lesion formation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the control group the intimal/medial ratio was 0.538 +/- 0.046 (mean +/- SEM), which was significantly greater than the anti-bFGF-treated group value of 0.148 +/- 0.021 (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results show that daily doses of intravenous polyclonal anti-bFGF IgG for 5 days after balloon aortic injury significantly inhibit intimal fibromuscular lesion formation at 14 days. The results suggest that the process of intimal fibromuscular lesion formation may be susceptible to modification by antagonists to bFGF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016.
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: LeBoutillier
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Rifkin
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Grossi
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Galloway
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000502:physiology*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000473:pathology*; D010960:Plasminogen Activators / Q000032:analysis; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D010960:Plasminogen Activators