Scuderi R, Travali S, Castrogiovanni P, Imbesi R M, Mazzone V, Failla G, Failla A
Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Patologie Sistemiche Policlinico, Università di Catania, Italia.
Clin Ter. 2009;160(6):435-9.
Heparin-binding epidermal growth factor is a member of the EGF family, it is a potent mitogen for smooth muscle cells and has been implicated in atherosclerosis, angiogenesis. In athererogenesis, HB-EGF has been detected in medial smooth cells and foamy macrofages. In this work, we have investigate about immunohistocemical localization of HB-EGF in atherosclerotic plaques.
Three cases of man affected by atherosclerosis have been examined. We have collected and examined atherosclerotic plaques by immunohistochemical procedure in optical microscopy. Samples have been incubated with primary Ac (anti-human HB-EGF- goat IgG).
In the three examined cases, results are partly overlap-ping, but with some difference in relation to location of positivity to HB-EGF. Only in one case, HB-EGF staining is rather weak and located just below endothelium where is a thickened area of tissue rich in fibres and few cells, In another case, positivity to HB-EGF is present in an area of connective tissue of the intima. In the last case, positivity to HB-EGF is evident in the context of a presumed elastic tissue with fusiform cells following fibres orientation, and that could be fibroblasts or smooth muscle cells.
These results indicate that HB-EGF is involved in the development of atherosclerotic plaques and that HB-EGF is a possible target for atherosclerosis therapy.
肝素结合表皮生长因子是表皮生长因子家族的一员，它是平滑肌细胞的一种强效促有丝分裂原，与动脉粥样硬化、血管生成有关。在动脉粥样硬化形成过程中，已在内膜平滑肌细胞和泡沫巨噬细胞中检测到肝素结合表皮生长因子。在本研究中，我们对肝素结合表皮生长因子在动脉粥样硬化斑块中的免疫组织化学定位进行了研究。
对3例动脉粥样硬化患者进行了检查。我们通过免疫组织化学方法在光学显微镜下收集并检查了动脉粥样硬化斑块。样本与一抗（抗人肝素结合表皮生长因子 - 山羊IgG）孵育。
在3例受检病例中，结果部分重叠，但在肝素结合表皮生长因子阳性部位方面存在一些差异。仅在1例中，肝素结合表皮生长因子染色相当弱，位于内皮下方，此处是富含纤维且细胞较少的增厚组织区域。在另一例中，内膜结缔组织区域存在肝素结合表皮生长因子阳性。在最后1例中，在一个推测为弹性组织的区域，梭形细胞沿纤维方向排列，肝素结合表皮生长因子阳性明显，这些细胞可能是成纤维细胞或平滑肌细胞。
这些结果表明肝素结合表皮生长因子参与了动脉粥样硬化斑块的形成，并且肝素结合表皮生长因子可能是动脉粥样硬化治疗的一个靶点。
