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Antiangiogenic VEGF-A in peripheral artery disease

Nature Medicine volume 20, pages 1383–1385 (2014)Cite this article

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Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) is a potent proangiogenic cytokine elevated in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). A new study links impaired vascular regrowth in PAD to increased expression of an antiangiogenic splice variant of VEGF-A.

PAD results from blockade of arteries, most often in the legs, due to atherosclerotic lesions. Patients with PAD experience severe pain due to limb ischemia and are at elevated risk for myocardial infarction, stroke and amputation1. The risk of developing PAD is increased in people with diabetes, metabolic disease and obesity, and these risk factors also correlate with decreased ability to provide alternate conduits for blood flow. Currently available treatments are limited and often have minimal efficacy on tissue revascularization, and molecular mechanisms regulating revascularization in PAD are poorly understood. In this issue of Nature Medicine, Kikuchi et al.2 show that an antiangiogenic isoform of VEGF, VEGF-A165b, is elevated in patients with PAD and prevents revascularization in a preclinical model of ischemia, suggesting new targets for relief of PAD symptoms.

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Figure 1: Patients with PAD have decreased blood flow in leg arteries resulting from atherosclerotic plaques.

Katie Vicari/Nature Publishing Group

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Joshua M. Boucher and Victoria L. Bautch are in the Department of Biology and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.,

    Joshua M Boucher & Victoria L Bautch

  2. Victoria L. Bautch is also at the McAllister Heart Institute, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.,

    Victoria L Bautch

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  1. Joshua M Boucher
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  2. Victoria L Bautch
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Correspondence to Victoria L Bautch.

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Boucher, J., Bautch, V. Antiangiogenic VEGF-A in peripheral artery disease. Nat Med 20, 1383–1385 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.3767

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