Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in human myocardial infarction.
To define mechanisms that may influence collateral circulation and angiogenesis, we investigated vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA expression in human hearts. In non-ischemic human hearts, VEGF mRNA was not detected in vessels, but was found in cardiomyocytes. In hearts with myocardial infarction, the intensity of the VEGF signal was much higher in smooth muscle cells of arterioles adjacent to necrosis and in infiltrating macrophages than in myocytes around the site of the necrosis. This study suggests that levels of VEGF expression are high in smooth muscle cells and macrophages around infarcted areas after myocardial infarction and that VEGF may play a role in promoting collateral circulation and angiogenesis in human ischemic hearts.
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
K
K
Shinohara
T
T
Shinohara
N
N
Mochizuki
Y
Y
Mochizuki
H
H
Sawa
T
T
Kohya
M
M
Fujita
Y
Y
Fujioka
A
A
Kitabatake
K
K
Nagashima
D000368:Aged; D001344:Autopsy; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D003097:Collateral Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D046508:Culture Techniques; D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger