Alteration in angiogenic and anti-angiogenic forms of vascular endothelial growth factor-A in skeletal muscle of patients with intermittent claudication following exercise training

作者：Jones W Schuyler^*; Duscha Brian D; Robbins Jennifer L; Duggan Natasha N; Regensteiner Judith G; Kraus William E; Hiatt William R; Dokun Ayotunde O; Annex Brian H

来源：Vascular Medicine, 2012, 17(2): 94-100.

DOI：10.1177/1358863X11436334

• angiogenesis
• peripheral artery disease
• vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)

The aims of this study were twofold: (1) to identify whether peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients had increased muscle concentration of angiogenic VEGF-A, anti-angiogenic VEGF(165)b or VEGF receptor 1 (VEGF-R1) when compared with control subjects, and (2) to evaluate whether exercise training in PAD patients was associated with changes in muscle concentration of VEGF-A, VEGF(165)b or VEGF-R1. At baseline, 22 PAD and 30 control subjects underwent gastrocnemius muscle biopsy. Twelve PAD patients were treated with supervised exercise training (SET) and underwent muscle biopsy after 3 weeks and 12 weeks of training and had sufficient tissue to measure VEGF-A, VEGF(165)b and VEGF-R1 concentrations in skeletal muscle lysates by ELISA. Muscle concentrations of VEGF-A and VEGF(165)b were similar in PAD patients versus controls at baseline. At both time points after the start of SET, VEGF-A levels decreased and there was a trend towards increased VEGF(165)b concentrations. At baseline, VEGF-R1 concentrations were lower in PAD patients when compared with controls but did not change after SET. Skeletal muscle concentrations of VEGF-A are not different in PAD patients when compared with controls at baseline. SET is associated with a significant reduction in VEGF-A levels and a trend towards increased VEGF(165)b levels. These somewhat unexpected findings suggest that further investigation into the mechanism of vascular responses to exercise training in PAD patients is warranted.

• 出版日期2012-4