Chen Wei, Fu Xiao-Bing, Ge Shi-Li, Zhou Gang, Han Bing, Sun Tong-Zhu, Sheng Zhi-Yong
Key Research Laboratory of Wound Repair, Burns Institute, 304 th Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100037, China.
Zhongguo Wei Zhong Bing Ji Jiu Yi Xue. 2004 Feb;16(2):85-9.
To explore the change in gene expression of angiogenesis-related factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), acid fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), in fetal skin at different developmental stages and children skin and their potential biological significances.
Fetal skin samples of human embryo were obtained from spontaneous abortion at different gestational ages ranging from 13 to 32 weeks, and children skin specimens were collected from child patients (4-12 years) undergoing plastic surgery. After morphological characteristics of skin at different developmental stages were defined histologically gene expressions of VEGF, Ang-1, aFGF and bFGF were examined with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis (RT-PCR).
The trend of changes in gene expression of VEGF, Ang-1, aFGF and bFGF was not same for different skin specimens at various developmental stages. In early gestational fetal skin, genes of VEGF and Ang-1 were strongly expressed, while in late gestational and childhood skins, gene expressions of VEGF and Ang-1 were apparently decreased. In skin of middle gestational stage, the level of aFGF gene expression was highest, and then it was progressively reduced. In childhood skin, this gene was weakly expressed. In marked contrast, the contents of transcripts of bFGF showed no substantial change in fetal skin at different developmental stages, whilst the mRNA content of bFGF was significantly decreased in childhood skin.
VEGF, Ang-1, aFGF and bFGF might be involved in regulating angiogenesis in skin from fetuses of different gestational stages and children. The relative increase in gene transcription of VEGF and Ang-1 in younger fetal skin might be one of the reasons why cutaneous cells proliferate rapidly and the wounds heal without scar.
探讨血管生成相关因子血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）、血管生成素-1（Ang-1）、酸性成纤维细胞生长因子（aFGF）和碱性成纤维细胞生长因子（bFGF）在不同发育阶段胎儿皮肤及儿童皮肤中的基因表达变化及其潜在生物学意义。
从13至32周不同孕周自然流产的人类胚胎获取胎儿皮肤样本，从接受整形手术的儿童患者（4 - 12岁）收集儿童皮肤标本。在通过组织学确定不同发育阶段皮肤的形态特征后，采用逆转录-聚合酶链反应分析（RT-PCR）检测VEGF、Ang-1、aFGF和bFGF的基因表达。
不同发育阶段的不同皮肤标本中，VEGF、Ang-1、aFGF和bFGF基因表达变化趋势不同。在妊娠早期胎儿皮肤中，VEGF和Ang-1基因强烈表达，而在妊娠晚期和儿童皮肤中，VEGF和Ang-1基因表达明显降低。在妊娠中期皮肤中，aFGF基因表达水平最高，然后逐渐降低。在儿童皮肤中，该基因弱表达。与之形成鲜明对比的是，bFGF转录本含量在不同发育阶段的胎儿皮肤中无明显变化，而在儿童皮肤中bFGF的mRNA含量显著降低。
VEGF、Ang-1、aFGF和bFGF可能参与调节不同孕周胎儿及儿童皮肤中的血管生成。较年轻胎儿皮肤中VEGF和Ang-1基因转录相对增加可能是皮肤细胞快速增殖且伤口无瘢痕愈合的原因之一。
