Clinical & Experimental Cardiology
Open Access

Abstract

Walker256 Sarcoma Stimulates Myocardial Angiogenesis after Acute Myocardial Infarction

Liu Jian-gang, Zhang Da-wu, Zhang lei, Li Jie and Shi Dazhuo

Objective: Regulating angiogenesis is an attractive target for treating tumors or ischemic diseases. The present study was to establish the Wister rat model with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and Walker256 Sarcoma, and observe angiogenesis and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1).

Method and results: Wistar rats were randomly assigned to AMI group (subjected to coronary artery ligation), AMI-tumor group (right regioaxillaris tumor induced by inoculation of tumor cell after AMI), sham group (the operation procedure was same to AMI rats except for the ligation of coronary artery or tumor cell inoculation) and sham-tumor group (inoculation of tumor cell added to rats in sham group). The capillary density in myocardium was investigated with optical microscope, and protein expression was examined with immunohistochemical staining. The left ventricular mass index (LVMI) of rats in AMI-tumor group decreased significantly compared with rats in AMI group, in parallel with increased expression of TGFβ1 and VEGF as well as capillary density.

Conclusions: Inoculation with walker256 sarcoma in AMI rats showed an increase of capillary density in the ischemic myocardium, which may be associated with elevated protein expression of VEGF and TGFβ1 in the serum and ischemic myocardium.