Effects of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Recovery Phase of Acute Lung Injury in Mice.

AIM

To test the hypothesis that exogenous administration of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) promotes lung repair in acute lung injury (ALI).

METHODS

ALI was induced by intranasal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration in mice, followed by different treatment protocols for 7 days in 3 groups (n = 6, each) including the LPS, the VEGF and the anti-VEGF group. At day 7, peripheral blood and lungs were collected. Lung wet-to-dry (W/D) ratio and lung injury score were measured. Immunohistochemistry assay was employed to detect the number of pulmonary vessels. Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) was detected using flow cytometric analysis, and the apoptosis of lung cells was determined by TUNEL staining.

RESULTS

VEGF treatment reduced W/D ratio and pulmonary neutrophil infiltration in the VEGF group compared with the LPS group. The treatment of VEGF increased the number of pulmonary vessels, and significantly increased the number of circulating EPC cells. Moreover, administration of VEGF decreased the percentage of apoptotic cells in the VEGF group.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that VEGF may contribute to vascular endothelial repair and function as a protective factor against ALI.