Wåhlin-Larsson Britta, Ulfberg Jan, Aulin Karin Piehl, Kadi Fawzi
School of Health and Medical Sciences, Orebro University, Orebro, Sweden.
Muscle Nerve. 2009 Oct;40(4):556-61. doi: 10.1002/mus.21357.
An increased capillary network has been observed in skeletal muscle of patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). This finding could be due to upregulation of growth factors responsible for angiogenesis. The aim of the study was to examine the occurrence and localization of VEGF and capillary proliferation in skeletal muscle of RLS (n = 12) and OSAS (n = 12) patients and controls (n = 11). Double-immunofluorescence staining for capillaries (CD31) and VEGF, and proliferating cells (Ki-67), was carried out on biopsies taken from the tibialis anterior. The percentage of capillaries expressing VEGF (CD31,VEGF(+)) was significantly higher in OSAS and RLS patients compared with controls. The percentage of proliferating capillaries (CD31,Ki-67(+)) was significantly higher in OSAS patients compared with controls. Our study shows the occurrence of proliferation of endothelial cells in skeletal muscle in RLS and OSAS, supporting an upregulation of VEGF located in capillaries, probably due to local hypoxia.
在不宁腿综合征（RLS）和阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征（OSAS）患者的骨骼肌中观察到毛细血管网络增加。这一发现可能是由于负责血管生成的生长因子上调所致。本研究的目的是检查RLS患者（n = 12）、OSAS患者（n = 12）和对照组（n = 11）骨骼肌中血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）的发生情况和定位以及毛细血管增殖情况。对取自胫前肌的活检组织进行毛细血管（CD31）和VEGF以及增殖细胞（Ki-67）的双重免疫荧光染色。与对照组相比，OSAS和RLS患者中表达VEGF的毛细血管（CD31，VEGF(+)）百分比显著更高。与对照组相比，OSAS患者中增殖性毛细血管（CD31，Ki-67(+)）百分比显著更高。我们的研究表明，RLS和OSAS患者骨骼肌中存在内皮细胞增殖，支持毛细血管中VEGF上调，这可能是由于局部缺氧所致。
