Impact of angiogenic therapy in the treatment of critical lower limb ischemia in an animal model.

Angiogenic therapies for critical limb ischemia were tested in a mouse model. The mice were anesthetized and their femoral arteries were ligated. The animals were treated with bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) alone, BMMCs combined with plasmid vector encoding granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), received no treatment, or no intervention (controls). The degree of ischemia was monitored for 4 weeks using a visual scale. Muscle atrophy and strength were assessed at 4 weeks postoperatively; the mice were then killed. In treated animals, total necrosis of the limb was not found, the weight of the gastrocnemius and quadriceps muscles was significantly higher, functional ability and tissue regeneration were significantly increased, and muscle impairment and adipocyte presence were significantly reduced compared with untreated animals. At inducing angiogenesis, the BMMCs alone was more effective than BMMCs combined with plasmid vector encoding GM-CSF. Treated animals showed increased angiogenesis compared with ischemic untreated ones.