title: Angiogenesis and growth factor modulation induced by alternagin C, a snake venom disintegrin-like, cysteine-rich protein on a rat skin wound model.
abstract: In this work, we show that alternagin-C (ALT-C) and ALT-C PEP, a peptide derived from its sequence, were able to induce angiogenesis in wounded rat skin. A spherical cutaneous excision was made in the back of each animal and treated with three different concentrations of ALT-C or ALT-C PEP. After that, the skin was removed and analyzed to verify the presence of new vessels and the expression of growth factors. ALT-C and ALT-C PEP induced the formation of new vessels and modulated the expression of growth factors, mainly VEGF and FGF1. The expression of VEGF increased and it could be detected up to 7 days after injury. FGF1 also significantly increased, but at a lesser extent than VEGF. In conclusion, the present study shows for the first time the stimulation of angiogenesis in an injured tissue by a disintegrin-like protein and that ALT-C may exert this effect by modulating the expression of growth factors.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, km 235, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Estela Maria Correia
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Sant'Ana
authors.forename: Cibele Marli Cação Paiva
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Gouvêa
authors.forename: Clóvis Ryuichi
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Nakaie
authors.forename: Heloisa Sobreiro
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Selistre-de-Araújo