Vascular permeability factor accelerates endothelial regrowth following balloon angioplasty

Many failures of vascular reconstructions are due to thrombosis and restenosis and are often attributed to inadequate endothelial regeneration at the site of endothelial denudation. Vascular permeability factor (VPF) is a naturally occurring growth factor responsible for vessel permeability and microvascular angiogenesis. Here, we show that VPF stimulated rabbit endothelial cell proliferation in vitro at concentrations 100 ng/ml. However, VPF had no effect on smooth muscle cell proliferation at these concentrations up to 500 ng/ml. When VPF was administered for 4 weeks (120 micrograms, twice weekly, i.v.) following balloon angioplasty-induced endothelial denudation of rabbit carotid artery, there was a significant increase in the in vivo regeneration of endothelium compared to control (57.5 +/- 6.7% vs. 38.3 +/- 1.9%, P < 0.01). Moreover, 8 weeks of VPF administration resulted in 88.1 +/- 3.1% re-endothelialization compared to control (44.7 +/- 3.8%). Hence, VPF appears to be a specific mitogen for endothelial regeneration.