A potent angiogenic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, improves the survival of the on-going acute hepatic failure in rats

Tadashi Namisaki; Hitoshi Yoshiji; Shigeki Kuriyama; Hideyuki Kojima; Junichi Yoshii; Yasuhide Ikenaka; Ryuichi Noguchi; Shinya Sakurai; Koji Yanase; Mitsuteru Kitade; Masaharu Yamazaki; Kiyoshi Asada; Tatsuhiro Tsujimoto; Takemi Akahane; Masahito Uemura; Hiroshi Fukui

doi:10.1016/j.hepres.2006.03.010

A potent angiogenic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, improves the survival of the on-going acute hepatic failure in rats

Hepatol Res. 2006 Jul;35(3):199-203. doi: 10.1016/j.hepres.2006.03.010. Epub 2006 May 22.

Authors

Tadashi Namisaki¹, Hitoshi Yoshiji, Shigeki Kuriyama, Hideyuki Kojima, Junichi Yoshii, Yasuhide Ikenaka, Ryuichi Noguchi, Shinya Sakurai, Koji Yanase, Mitsuteru Kitade, Masaharu Yamazaki, Kiyoshi Asada, Tatsuhiro Tsujimoto, Takemi Akahane, Masahito Uemura, Hiroshi Fukui

Affiliation

¹ Third Department of Internal Medicine, Nara Medical University, Shijo-cho 840, Kashihara, Nara 634-8522, Japan.

PMID: 16716658
DOI: 10.1016/j.hepres.2006.03.010

Abstract

Although it has been shown that a simultaneous administration of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF); a potent angiogenic factor, could improve the overall survival of chemically induced acute hepatic failure (AHF) in rats, it has not been elucidated yet whether this salvage effect can be observed in the on-going AHF or not. For future clinical application, we examined the effect of VEGF on the on-going AHF. A combination of d-galactosamine (Gal-N) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was administered to induce AHF in rats. The survival rate and several indices were compared with or without VEGF treatment at 12 and 24h after the intoxication. Even after the establishment of severe liver injury, the overall survival and the serum ALT elevation were significantly improved by treatment with VEGF. The proliferation of the hepatocytes and sinusoidal endothelial cells (SEC) was also stimulated by VEGF. Furthermore, VEGF prevented the destruction of the architecture of the hepatic sinusoids. Since VEGF significantly improved the survival of the on-going AHF, the exogenous VEGF administration may represent a feasible new therapeutic strategy for AHF in the future.