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Arteriolization of Capillaries and FGF‐2 Upregulation in Skeletal Muscles of Patients with Chronic Peripheral Arterial Disease
Author(s) -
BAUM OLIVER,
DJONOV VALENTIN,
GANSTER MURIELLE,
WIDMER MATTHIAS,
BAUMGARTNER IRIS
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
microcirculation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.793
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1549-8719
pISSN - 1073-9688
DOI - 10.1080/10739680591003413
Subject(s) - asymptomatic , medicine , skeletal muscle , basement membrane , pathology , peripheral , immunohistochemistry , anatomy , endocrinology
Objective: Microvascular changes in ischemic skeletal muscle are described derived from patients with long‐lasting peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Methods: Skeletal muscles from the lower limb of 17 patients (obtained after amputation) with chronic PAD and 4 asymptomatic controls (obtained from biopsies after bypass surgery) were evaluated by electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. Results: The capillaries in skeletal muscles of PAD patients were surrounded by a more than 1μ m‐thick coat, which was positively stained for basement membrane pericapillary coat collagen type IV. Thickness of the coat correlated with presence of PAD ( p < .0001), and less strongly with diabetes mellitus ( p = .023) and age of patients ( p = .019). The majority of the capillaries in skeletal muscles of PAD patients (71.1 ± 15.3%) were covered with cells positive for smooth muscle cell actin (sma) as compared to samples from asymptomatic controls (22.8% ± 9.6%; p < .0001) suggesting advanced arteriolization. Semiquantitative analysis revealed that patients with PAD demonstrate a higher expression of FGF‐2 in capillary endothelial cells (67.8 ± 17.5%) as compared to controls (10.2 ± 8.4%; p < .0001), whereas VEGF immunoreactivity was only occasionally present in extravascular cells. Conclusion: Thickened collagen type IV‐positive basement membranes in combination with a significant increase in sma‐coverage indicate arteriolization of capillaries characteristic for chronic PAD, what may be related to high FGF‐2 expression in capillary endothelial cells.