Adenovirus encoding vascular endothelial growth factor-D induces tissue-specific vascular patterns in vivo

Abstract

The capacity of an adenovirus encoding the mature form of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-D, VEGF-DΔNΔC, to induce angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, or both was analyzed in 2 distinct in vivo models. We first demonstrated in vitro that VEGF-DΔNΔC encoded by the adenovirus (Ad-VEGF-DΔNΔC) is capable of inducing endothelial cell proliferation and migration and that the latter response is primarily mediated by VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2). Second, we characterized a new in vivo model for assessing experimental angiogenesis, the rat cremaster muscle, which permits live videomicroscopy and quantitation of functional blood vessels. In this model, a proangiogenic effect of Ad-VEGF-DΔNΔC was e..