Sustained Placental Growth Factor-2 Treatment Does Not Aggravate Advanced Atherosclerosis in Ischemic Cardiomyopathy

Angiogenic growth factor therapy for ischemic cardiovascular disease carries a risk of stimulating atherosclerotic plaque growth. We evaluated risk benefit ratio of sustained administration of recombinant human placental growth factor (rhPlGF)-2 in mice with advanced atherosclerosis and chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy. We maintained apolipoprotein E-deficient mice on a high cholesterol diet and induced myocardial infarction by transient ligation at 4 weeks. At 8 weeks, we assessed left ventricular (LV) function and randomized mice to receive rhPlGF-2 or vehicle (VEH) subcutaneously for 28 days. Administration of rhPlGF-2 significantly increased PlGF plasma levels without adverse hemodynamic or systemic inflammatory effects. RhPlGF-2 did not increase plaque area, composition, or vulnerability in the aortic arch. RhPlGF-2 significantly improved contractile function and reduced LV end-systolic and end-diastolic volume indices with a concomitant increase in capillary and arteriolar density in ischemic myocardium. RhPlGF-2 may represent a promising therapeutic strategy in chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy.