A systemically administered EP2 receptor agonist stimulates pulmonary angiogenesis in a murine model of emphysema

We investigated whether systemically administered EP2 receptor agonists would stimulate angiogenesis in the emphysematous lungs of mice. Saline or porcine pancreatic elastase was intratracheally administered to C57BL/6J mice to induce the formation of emphysematous lesions, and 4 weeks later the mice were intraperitoneally injected with an EP2 receptor agonist, ONO-AE1-259 or PGE2, or saline on days 1–5 each week for 3 weeks. Intraperitoneal ONO-AE1-259 in the mice in the intratracheal saline group increased pulmonary capillary volume to 114.9% of the control value (P < 0.05), and when administered to the intratracheal elastase group, ONO-AE1-259 partially restored pulmonary capillary volume, from 70.9% of the control value to 88.3% of the control value (P < 0.05). Intraperitoneal PGE2 tended to increase pulmonary capillary volume in the mice in the intratracheal saline group (P = 0.07) but not in the intratracheal elastase group. Intraperitoneal ONO-AE1-259 and PGE2 each increased the concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the number of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in circulating blood. These results suggest that systemically administered ONO-AE1-259 stimulates pulmonary angiogenesis in an elastase-induced murine model of emphysema.