The therapeutic effect of vascular endothelial growth factor gene- or heme oxygenase-1 gene-modified endothelial progenitor cells on neovascularization of rat hindlimb ischemia model

Genetically modified endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) is useful in designing strategies to achieve dual purposes in treating peripheral arterial disease: targeted delivery of therapeutic genes using EPC as vehicle, and enhancement on the angiogenic properties of EPC by the expression of therapeutic genes. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been shown to play an important role in ischemic angiogenesis, aside from its role as an antioxidant protein. We have shown for the first time that vascular endothelial growth factor A-modified EPC and HO-1-modified EPC synergized with each other in promoting angiogenesis in rat hindlimb ischemia model. These findings provide further evidence of the importance of both HO-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor in neovascularization.