Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2000 Sep 1;87(5):378-84.
doi: 10.1161/01.res.87.5.378.

Contribution of monocytes/macrophages to compensatory neovascularization: the drilling of metalloelastase-positive tunnels in ischemic myocardium

N I Moldovan  1 , P J Goldschmidt-Clermont, J Parker-Thornburg, S D Shapiro, P E Kolattukudy
Affiliations

Contribution of monocytes/macrophages to compensatory neovascularization: the drilling of metalloelastase-positive tunnels in ischemic myocardium

N I Moldovan et al. Circ Res. .

Abstract

In a transgenic model of ischemic cardiomyopathy in which monocytes are attracted to the myocardium by the targeted overexpression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), we have observed the presence of endothelial NO synthase and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1-negative tunnels, occasionally containing blood-derived cells, that probe the cardiac tissue. Immunohistochemical data show that monocytes/macrophages (MCs/Mphs) drill tunnels using the broad-spectrum mouse macrophage metalloelastase. 5-Bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation and neo-endothelial markers present in the microvasculature of MCP-1 mouse hearts suggest an active angiogenic process. Further studies will be required to establish that the MC-/Mph-drilled tunnels evolve to become capillaries, connected to the existing vessels and colonized by circulating endothelial cell progenitors. This possibility is supported by the availability of these cells, which is demonstrated by cell tagging with beta-galactosidase placed under an active endothelial Tie-2 promoter. This phenomenon might represent another mechanism, in addition to the secretion of the angiogenic factors, by which MCs/MPhs may participate in the elaboration of new blood vessels in adult tissues.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources