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Biomedical subjects

E R Edelman

Publications and source records attributed to E R Edelman.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Vascular endothelial growth factor administration in chronic myocardial ischemia.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent mitogen capable of stimulating angiogenesis. We examined the effect of VEGF administration in a model of chronic porcine myocardial ischemia. Nineteen pigs were instrumented with proximal left circumflex coronary artery (LCX) Ameroid constrictors. In eight animals VEGF (2 microgram) with heparin (50 U) was administered extraluminally to the LCX myocardium with an osmotic pump for 4 wk and 11 other animals served as controls. VEGF-treated animals demonstrated higher flow in the LCX territory during both rest and pacing compared with untreated controls (rest: 1.35 +/- 0.1 vs. 0.80 +/- 0.09 ml.min-1.g-1; pacing; 2.01 +/- 0.37 vs. 1.01 +/- 0.07 ml.min-1.g-1, P < 0.05, VEGF vs. controls). The observed improvement in regional coronary flow in VEGF-treated animals resulted in better preservation of endothelium-dependent microvessel relaxation as well as fractional LV shortening in the LCX territory during pacing in the VEGF-treated than in control animals (controls: 7.1 +/ 2.6 vs. 3.6 +/- 2.0%, rest vs. pacing; VEGF: 6.9 +/- 2.9 vs. 6.3 +/- 2.9%, rest vs. pacing). We conclude that VEGF administration in a gradual coronary occlusion model in pigs results in improvement of coronary flow and preservation of regional hemodynamics in the compromised myocardium.

Animals↗

Computational simulations of local vascular heparin deposition and distribution.

Local vascular drug delivery systems provide elevated concentrations in target arterial tissues while minimizing systemic side effects; however, definition of their precise pharmacokinetics remains elusive. The standard labeled tracer assays used in experimental vascular pharmacokinetic studies of these systems are limited because they quantify the arterial average drug concentration as opposed to transmural concentration profiles, require many animal experiments to elucidate the time-varying deposition, and track label rather than intact biologically active drug. In this study, computational simulations of drug deposition and distribution in vascular tissues after release from these systems have provided two important insights. First, simulations of arteries that were uniformly loaded with heparin predicted that most of the drug is cleared in < 1 h, illustrating the need for sustained modes of delivery. Second, some of the limitations of labeled tracers can be over come by combining experimental data with simulations that provided high spatial resolution. This enabled us to describe the kinetics of the deposited drug and distinguish soluble from reversibly bound and internalized drug within cells. The latter can help differentiate biologically viable drug from its committed inactive form or metabolites. These points have been illustrated through simulations of a novel endovascular hydrogel heparin-delivery system that has been applied to the porcine coronary artery. The basic models used in these simulations are generalized, and with the appropriate boundary conditions, binding and distribution constants can be used to study the physical interactions between any compound and tissue.

Animals↗

Monocyte recruitment and neointimal hyperplasia in rabbits. Coupled inhibitory effects of heparin.

Among the many effects of heparin independent of its effects on coagulation are inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and regulation of leukocyte-blood vessel interactions. The potential link between these effects was examined in an animal model of vascular injury rich in inflammatory cells: the placement of endovascular metal stents in rabbit iliac arteries. Monocyte adhesion stimulated by early focal thrombus was maximal after 3 days, with infiltrating monocytes and intimal cell proliferation maximal after 7 days. Tissue monocyte number dictated cell proliferation at each time point (R2 = .92, P < .0001). Heparin reduced both early monocyte adhesion as well as monocyte infiltration within the neointima 7 and 14 days after stent placement. Reductions in adherent and tissue monocytes were commensurate with reductions in intimal cell proliferation and intimal thickening. At 14 days, heparin's inhibition of mononuclear cell adhesion was correlated with its suppression of intimal thickening (R2 = .82, P < .0001). Monocytes have been hypothesized to serve as markers, initiators, and promoters of arterial occlusive diseases. Heparin's ability to inhibit mononuclear cell adhesion and penetration and reduce neointimal size and cell proliferation after vascular injury may further implicate monocytes in the pathogenesis of neointimal hyperplasia after mechanical arterial injury.

Animals↗

Tissue engineered perivascular endothelial cell implants regulate vascular injury.

Molecular biomaterial engineering permits in vivo transplantation of cells and tissues, offering the promise of restoration of physiologic control rather than pharmacologic dosing with isolated compounds. We engrafted endothelial cells on Gelfoam biopolymeric matrices with retention of viability, normal growth kinetics, immunoreactivity, and biochemical activity. The production of heparan sulfate proteoglycan and inhibition of basic fibroblast growth factor binding and activity by engrafted cells were indistinguishable from endothelial cells grown in culture. Perivascular implantation of Gelfoam-endothelial cell scaffolds around balloon-denuded rat carotid arteries reduced intimal hyperplasia 88.1%, far better than the isolated administration of heparin, the most effective endothelial mimic compound. In concert with a reduction in intimal area, cell proliferation was reduced by > 90%. To our knowledge, there have been no previous reports of extravascular cell implants controlling vasculoproliferative disease. Tissue engineered cells offer the potential for potent methods of vascular growth regulation and insight into the complex autocrine-paracrine control mechanisms within the blood vessel wall.

Animals↗

Endovascular stent design dictates experimental restenosis and thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: Vascular interventions that maximize initial lumen diameter provoke extensive neointimal hyperplasia but minimize its effects, causing long-term lumen size to be greater. Nevertheless, interventions such as endovascular stents, which increase lumen size above that achieved with balloon angioplasty, are subject to frequent thrombosis and restenosis. It has been unclear whether the response to stent-induced injury is determined solely by the degree of stent-induced arterial expansion or whether the geometric configuration of the stent or the material left in contact with the vessel wall also contribute. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined the vascular response to steel stents deployed in denuded rabbit iliac arteries for 14 days. In one set of experiments, the effects of sten configuration were examined, holding diameter, mass, surface area, and stent surface material constant. In another set, stent surface material was changed, with mass, configuration, and diameter unaltered. Changing stent configuration to reduce strut-strut intersections by 29% without affecting mass or surface area reduced vascular injury by 42%, thrombosis by 69%, and neointimal hyperplasia by 38%. Monocyte adhesion to stented arteries correlated linearly with vascular trauma and neointimal hyperplasia (r = .96, P < .01 for each). When the stainless steel surface was coated with an inert polymer material, vascular injury and neointimal hyperplasia were unchanged but thrombosis was eliminated. CONCLUSIONS: Surface material and geometric configuration of stents may be more important than postplacement diameter in determining neointimal hyperplasia and thrombosis. Alterations in configuration affect vascular injury and neointimal hyperplasia, while surface material plays a greater role in thrombosis. Monocytes may be important modulators of stent-induced intimal thickening. Clinical confirmation of these findings may alter coronary stent deployment techniques and future stent designs.

Animals↗

Transdermal delivery of heparin by skin electroporation.

Therapeutic uses of compounds produced by biotechnology are presently limited by the lack of noninvasive methods for continuous administration of biologically-active macromolecules. Transdermal delivery would be an attractive solution, except macromolecules have not previously been delivered clinically across human skin at therapeutic rates. To increase transport of a highly-charged macromolecule (heparin), high-voltage pulses believed to cause electroporation were applied to skin. Using this approach, transdermal heparin transport across human skin in vitro occurred at therapeutic rates (100-500 micrograms/cm2h), reported to be sufficient for systemic anticoagulation. In contrast, fluxes caused by low-voltage iontophoresis having the same time-averaged current were an order of magnitude lower. Heparin transported across the skin was biologically active, but with only one eighth the anticoagulant activity of heparin in the donor compartment due to preferential transport of small (less active) heparin molecules. Flux, activity, and transport number data together suggest that high-voltage pulsing creates transient changes in skin microstructure which do not occur during iontophoresis. Safety issues are discussed.

Administration, Cutaneous↗

c-myc in vasculoproliferative disease.

Antisense oligonucleotides to genes central to cellular proliferation have suppressed smooth muscle cell growth in vitro and in vivo. We now report that although the response of cultured smooth muscle cells to antisense oligonucleotides to c-myc and c-myb is identical, the response of the injured arterial wall to these oligomers depends on the kinetics of gene expression and oligonucleotide delivery. Two different antisense oligonucleotides to each oncogene were administered to the perivascular aspect of injured rat carotid arteries via polymer-based delivery systems. The acute release of antisense oligonucleotides from the Pluronic gels reduced in vitro cell growth 54.8% with c-myc and 56.9% with c-myb. The more sustained release from ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVAc) matrices was slightly less efficient, inhibiting proliferation 47.3% and 43.3%, respectively. However, although both EVAc and Pluronic release of c-myb antisense oligonucleotide sequences inhibited intimal hyperplasia 2 weeks after injury, only the more prolonged EVAc matrix release of antisense oligonucleotide to c-myc was effective. The failure of the short course of c-myc oligomer release from Pluronic gels stemmed from early successful suppression with late loss of regulation and not from inactivation of the antisense oligonucleotide within the polymeric gel. Within 24 hours of injury, Pluronic-based release of c-myc antisense oligomers reduced mRNA levels in the tunica media 2.5-fold and immunocytochemical identification of c-myc expression by 98.8%. As a result, the number of proliferating cells was decreased 6.5-fold 3 days after injury.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Mechanisms of transmural heparin transport in the rat abdominal aorta after local vascular delivery.

Local vascular drug delivery systems provide elevated concentrations in target arterial tissues, while minimizing systemic side effects. Drug can now be released to isolated arterial segments from the endovascular or perivascular aspects of the blood vessel, yet the forces that determine drug distribution and deposition for these different modes of delivery have not been rigorously investigated. This study examines mechanisms of transmural transport of a model vasoactive drug, heparin, and compares estimates of the distribution after administration from either aspect of the artery. We showed that (1) heparin traversed the arterial wall rapidly; (2) diffusion far outweighed convection in the control of transmural heparin transport in the normal artery, but after endothelial injury, convective forces rose to one quarter the magnitude of diffusive forces; (3) the endothelium posed a minimal diffusive barrier to heparin; and (4) the diffusive barrier imposed by the adventitia depended on its thickness. These findings strongly suggest that vasoregulatory compounds can be administered to target tissue by either perivascular or endovascular means with equal efficacy, because the forces governing transport of heparin from either aspect of the blood vessel wall are not significantly different. Furthermore, the differences in arterial transport properties between heparin and other macromolecules suggest that distribution and the optimal aspect of delivery will depend just as much on the physicochemical properties of the drug as the state of the blood vessel wall.

Animals↗

Relation of restenosis after excimer laser angioplasty to fasting insulin levels.

Several studies have shown that diabetes mellitus increases the risk of restenosis after coronary intervention, but the role of insulin in restenosis has not been defined. The relation between fasting insulin levels and restenosis was evaluated prospectively at 6-month angiographic follow-up in 70 patients undergoing excimer laser coronary angioplasty of 75 lesions. Restenosis (> 50% diameter narrowing on quantitative angiography) was observed at 37 of 75 treated sites (49%). Although patients with glucose intolerance and noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus showed a trend toward increased restenosis (restenosis rate 69%; odds ratio for restenosis 2.7 [95% confidence interval 0.76, 9.82]; p = 0.124), those with increased fasting insulin levels > 15 muU/ml had reduced restenosis (restenosis rate 24%; odds ratio 0.22 [0.07, 0.67]; p = 0.008). Other factors including fasting serum glucose, glycated hemoglobin and lipoprotein fraction were not predictive of restenosis. The relation between insulin levels and restenosis after excimer laser angioplasty may provide insights into the biology of vascular injury and repair after coronary intervention.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗

Basic FGF enhances endothelium-dependent relaxation of the collateral-perfused coronary microcirculation.

The effect of chronic, periadventitial administration of basic (b) fibroblast growth factor (FGF) on endothelial dysfunction in the collateral-dependent and normally perfused coronary microcirculation was examined. Ameroid constrictors were placed on the proximal left circumflex coronary artery (LCX) in 23 pigs. In 11 pigs, bFGF was released from calcium alginate microcapsules into the perivascular space of the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) and LCX. After 5-8 wk, coronary arterial microvessels (80-170 microns) were studied in a pressurized (40 mmHg) no-flow state with video microscopy. Receptor-mediated endothelium-dependent relaxations to ADP and serotonin were reduced while contraction to acetylcholine was enhanced in the collateral-dependent LCX microvessels of non-bFGF-treated control hearts. Relaxation of vessels to the non-receptor-mediated, endothelium-dependent agent A-23187; endothelium-independent relaxation to nitroprusside; and contraction to KCl were similar in all groups. Chronic treatment with bFGF normalized responses to ADP, serotonin, and acetylcholine in the collateral-dependent LCX region but had no effect on the responses of vessels in the normally perfused LAD region. Arteriolar density in the collateral-perfused LCX region of bFGF-treated hearts was markedly increased (4-fold compared with that in untreated hearts, suggesting a link between the angiogenic effect of bFGF and its action on endothelial preservation. Thus the periadventitial, sustained delivery of bFGF preserves receptor-mediated, endothelium-dependent responses in the collateral-dependent LCX region but has no effect on responses of microvessels in the normally perfused LAD region or on non-receptor-mediated endothelium-dependent relaxation.

15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5↗

Contrasting effects of the intermittent and continuous administration of heparin in experimental restenosis.

BACKGROUND: Heparin inhibits proliferation of smooth muscle cells in culture and intimal hyperplasia in experimental animals but paradoxically exacerbates vascular injury in clinical trials. To determine whether the difference in the means by which heparin was administered explained the benefit in animals and aggravation in humans, we examined the vascular effects of a range of heparin treatments. METHODS AND RESULTS: When laboratory rats were injected subcutaneously with heparin (55.5 IU, approximately 1.0 mg/kg) per clinical trial protocols, intimal hyperplasia after arterial injury was exacerbated rather than alleviated. The intima to media area ratio was increased 22.5% with every-other-day injections and was increased 16.8% with daily injections. When the daily dose of heparin was increased to 7.2 mg/kg or when injections were initiated a week before injury, intimal hyperplasia was made even worse (52.2% and 59.9% above control). Twice-daily heparin, 7 and 17 hours apart, had no demonstrable effect one way or the other, and it was not until the heparin was administered at 12-hour intervals that intimal hyperplasia and cell proliferation were lessened (44.6% decrease). The greatest reduction in intimal hyperplasia was obtained when the heparin was administered continuously. The continuous osmotic pump intravenous infusion of heparin inhibited 62.5% of the expected proliferation, and perivascular polymeric device release of heparin blocked the response by 74.2%. While subcutaneous injections transiently increased activated partial thromboplastin time, neither mode of continuous delivery altered coagulation. CONCLUSIONS: We might reconsider the use of heparin in vascular diseases and not neglect this promising compound because of inappropriate extrapolation from the laboratory to clinical use.

Animals↗

Antisense proliferating cell nuclear antigen oligonucleotides inhibit intimal hyperplasia in a rat carotid artery injury model.

We have used antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotides to define the role played by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in neointimal accumulation of smooth muscle cells in a rat carotid artery injury model. The short-term extraluminal delivery of 250 nmol of antisense oligonucleotides, but not control oligonucleotides, immediately after arterial injury produces a 77% suppression of PCNA mRNA after 24 h and a 52% decrease in the frequency of medial smooth muscle cells expressing PCNA after 72 h. This reduction in PCNA expression is accompanied by a 59% decrease in the frequency of proliferating medial smooth muscle cells at 3 d as measured by BudR staining and an 80% decrease in neointimal accumulation assessed morphometrically at 2 wk. Thus, the expression of PCNA is required for medial smooth muscle cell growth in vivo and for neointimal formation after arterial injury.

Animals↗

Basic fibroblast growth factor improves myocardial function in chronically ischemic porcine hearts.

The effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) administration on regional myocardial function and blood flow in chronically ischemic hearts was studied in 26 pigs instrumented with proximal circumflex coronary artery (LCX) ameroid constrictors. In 13 animals bFGF was administered extraluminally to the proximal left anterior descending (LAD) and LCX arteries with heparin-alginate beads and 13 other animal served as controls. bFGF-treated pigs showed a fourfold reduction in left ventricular infarct size compared to untreated controls (infarct size: 1.2 +/- 0.4% vs. 5.1 +/- 1.3% of LV mass, mean +/- SEM, P < 0.05). Percent fractional shortening (% FS) in the LCX area at rest was reduced compared with the LAD region in both bFGF and control pigs. However, there was better recovery in the LCX area after rapid pacing in bFGF-treated pigs (% FSLCX/% FSLAD, 22.9 +/- 7.3%-->30.5 +/- 8.5%, P < 0.05 vs. prepacing) than in controls (16.0 +/- 7.8%-->14.3 +/- 7.0%, P = NS). Furthermore, LV end-diastolic pressure rise with rapid pacing was less in bFGF-treated than control pigs (pre-pacing; pacing; post-pacing, 10 +/- 1; 17 +/- 3; 11 +/- 1* mmHg vs 10 +/- 1; 24 +/- 4; 15 +/- 1 mmHg, *P < 0.05 vs. control). Coronary blood flow in the LCX territory (normalized for LAD flow) was also better during pacing in bFGF-treated pigs than in controls. Thus, periadventitial administration of bFGF in a gradual coronary occlusion model in pigs results in improvement of coronary flow and reduction in infarct size in the compromised territory as well as in prevention of pacing-induced hemodynamic deterioration.

Animals↗

Perivascular and intravenous administration of basic fibroblast growth factor: vascular and solid organ deposition.

The in vivo mitogenicity of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) for arterial smooth muscle cells relies on the removal of endothelium, raising the question of whether the endothelium serves as a mechanical barrier preventing contact of circulating bFGF with underlying smooth muscle cells or as a biochemical barrier that produces a local inhibitor of bFGF activity. To better define the role of the intact endothelium in modulating the vascular and tissue deposition of bFGF, we compared the fate of intravenous injections of 125I-labeled bFGF with perivascular controlled growth factor release. Peak serum bFGF levels were detected within 1 min of injection, and the growth factor was cleared thereafter with a serum half-life of almost 3 min. Polymeric controlled release devices delivered bFGF to the extravascular space without transendothelial transport. Deposition within the blood vessel wall was rapidly distributed circumferentially and was substantially greater than that observed following intravenous injection. The amount of bFGF deposited in arteries adjacent to the release devices was 40 times that deposited in similar arteries in animals who received a single intravenous bolus of bFGF. Endothelial denudation had a minimal effect on deposition following perivascular release, and it increased deposition following intravenous delivery 2-fold. The presence of intimal hyperplasia increased deposition of perivascularly released bFGF 2.4-fold but decreased the deposition of intravenously injected bFGF by 67%. In contrast, bFGF was 5- to 30-fold more abundant in solid organs after intravenous injection than it was following perivascular release. Deposition was greatest in the kidney, liver, and spleen and was substantially lower in the heart and lung. Thus, bFGF is rapidly cleared following intravenous injection and is deposited within both solid organs and the walls of blood vessels. Unlike the mitogenic potential of bFGF within blood vessels, vascular deposition is virtually independent of the presence of endothelium. Perivascular delivery is far more efficient than intravenous delivery at depositing bFGF within the arterial wall, and an increased neointima may provide added substrate for potential bFGF deposition but has limited contact with intravascular growth factor as a result of dilutional and flow-mediated effects.

Alginates↗

Optimization of release from magnetically controlled polymeric drug release devices.

Release rates from drug:polymer matrices embedded with small magnets increase in the presence of oscillating magnetic fields. Previous studies of these systems have defined those parameters that determine the extent of the increase in release, and implied that not only was the force generated within the matrix an important determinant of the extent of modulation but also that the greater the amount of matrix actually displaced, the greater the observed modulation. We investigated this possibility in the magnetic system and developed a model taking into account the intersection of the volume of a cylindrical polymer-drug magnet embedded matrix with an imaginary sphere representing the upper limit of matrix deformation by the magnet. The intersection correlated in a linear fashion with the increase in release (slope = 1.16 +/- 0.26, R = 0.864, P = 0.003, s.e.e. = 1.38). Magnet orientation alone was insufficient to explain the data. It appears that a modulated system is optimized when the modulating force overlaps precisely with the maximum amount of matrix drug that can be released. If the size of the matrix, position of the magnet, force generated on the matrix by the magnet, viscoelastic properties of the matrix, etc. are not matched then modulation is inefficient. These results should provide further insight into and a means of optimization for externally regulated controlled release systems.

Chemistry, Pharmaceutical↗

Inhibition of experimental neointimal hyperplasia and thrombosis depends on the type of vascular injury and the site of drug administration.

BACKGROUND: Heparin inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation in tissue culture and limits neointimal hyperplasia after experimental arterial injury but has been ineffective in reducing clinical restenosis. We examined how this discrepancy might reflect suboptimal drug-tissue interactions and/or differences in the vascular response to injury. METHODS AND RESULTS: Intravenous infusion was compared with local administration of heparin to injured rabbit iliac arteries either from drug-impregnated polymeric controlled release matrices in the perivascular space or from drug-releasing endovascular stents. Occlusive thrombosis, seen in 42% of control stent-bearing arteries, and partial thrombosis were virtually eliminated by heparin delivery from any route. Intimal area 14 days after balloon withdrawal denudation alone was reduced to an equal extent by continuous systemic heparin or by perivascular heparin for the first 3 days. In contrast, endovascular stents produced more exuberant neointimal hyperplasia, the inhibition of which required continuous rather than only early heparin administration. Neither perivascular delivery limited to the first 3 days nor stent-based delivery reduced neointimal hyperplasia as effectively. CONCLUSIONS: The antiproliferative and antithrombotic effects of heparin differ markedly, depending on the type of arterial injury and the mode of drug administration. Different forms of injury may require different therapies, and complications of arterial intervention such as excessive neointimal hyperplasia and thrombosis may demand alternate therapeutic regimens. Duration, dose, and site of delivery rather than frank resistance to therapy may explain why experimentally effective antiproliferative and antithrombotic agents fail clinically.

Administration, Topical↗