Angiogenic growth factor responses to long-term treadmill exercise in mice.

We sought to determine whether VEGF and other angiogenic growth factors and their receptors might be subject to negative feedback regulation during two weeks of treadmill-exercise conditioning in inbred strains of mice. C57BL/6 mice exhibited greater VEGF mRNA and protein responses in gastrocnemius muscle to a single bout of treadmill exercise compared to BALB/c mice. The patterns of VEGF, VEGFR1, VEGFR2, Ang2 and Tie2 mRNA expression in gastrocnemius muscles of C57BL/6 mice during long-term exercise support the hypothesis that they may be subject to negative feedback regulation.

Regulation of sFlt-1 and VEGF secretion by adenosine under hypoxic conditions in rat placental villous explants.

The role of adenosine in the regulation of cardiovascular function has long been acknowledged, but only recently has its importance in angiogenesis been appreciated, most notably, through its direct regulation of the proangiogenic growth factor, VEGF. Recent work has established that proangiogenic and antiangiogenic factors, specifically VEGF and and the soluble VEGF receptor fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), are directly influenced by hypoxia in placental ischemia. While adenosine has been reported to be an important regulator of VEGF in vascular tissue, the importance of adenosine in regulating VEGF and sFlt-1 in placental tissue is unclear.

Growth regulation of the vascular system: an emerging role for adenosine.

The importance of metabolic factors in the regulation of angiogenesis is well understood. An increase in metabolic activity leads to a decrease in tissue oxygenation causing tissues to become hypoxic. The hypoxia initiates a variety of signals that stimulate angiogenesis, and the increase in vascularity that follows promotes oxygen delivery to the tissues.

Adenosine infusion increases plasma levels of VEGF in humans.

Background: Many in vitro studies have shown that adenosine (Ado) can induce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA and protein expression and stimulate endothelial proliferation. In the present study, we seek to determine whether Ado can increase circulating levels of VEGF protein in the intact human.

Methods: Five outpatients 49.

Increased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and capillary density in hearts of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Objective: The role of VEGF in vascular remodeling of target organs exposed to chronic hypertension is poorly understood. The authors compared capillary density (CD), capillary-to-fiber ratio (C/F), and VEGF mRNA expression in the hearts (left ventricle [LV]), and skeletal muscles (soleus and anterior tibialis [AT]) of 18-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and age-matched male Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.

Methods: CD or C/F in LV, soleus, and AT of SHR, WKY, and SD rats was determined by analysis of randomly acquired digital images of cryosections stained with FITC-conjugated GS-I lectin.

Exercise increases endostatin in circulation of healthy volunteers.

Background: Physical inactivity increases the risk of atherosclerosis. However, the molecular mechanisms of this relation are poorly understood. A recent report indicates that endostatin, an endogenous angiostatic factor, inhibits the progression of atherosclerosis, and suggests that reducing intimal and atherosclerotic plaque tissue neovascularization can inhibit the progression atherosclerosis in animal models.