VEGF analysis induced by endothelialized gas-plasma treated D,L-PLA scaffolds.

Purpose: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) isoforms play different roles in the temporal sprouting of endothelial-lined vessels in a nude mouse peritoneal model as cells respond to nontreated control and gas-plasma-treated bioresorbable poly-D,L-lactide acid 3D scaffolds with human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC).

Methods And Materials: Nude mice peritoneums were incubated with HAEC (CW = control; TW = gas-plasma treated) or polymer scaffolds (Cp = control; Tp = treated) for 12, 24 and 72 days. Cytoplasmic and nuclear protein fractions were isolated using NER, electrophoresized using NuPAGE-MES and analyzed by WesternBreeze Chemiluminescent.

Results: Prominent VEGF bands included 28, 45 and 62 kDa; 52-kDa VEGF observed in cytoplasmic TW fractions contributed about 18.6% at 12 days, 20.0% at 24 days and 13.1% at 72 days of the total VEGF signal. Yet, it was only noted in CW at 72 days where it accounted for 6.9%. A unique 32-kDa band appeared in both Cp (24.6%) and Tp (18.3%). Significant differences between band densities occurred for cytoplasmic nuclear CW24- TW24 (P = .022), CW72-TW72 (P = .011) and, also, cytoplasmic Cp24-Tp24 (P = .038).

Conclusions: The temporal and spatial organization of the TW isoforms results in more angiogenesis.