Increase in Peripheral Blood Flow by Intravenous Administration of Prostaglandin E1 in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease, Accompanied by Up-Regulation of Hepatocyte Growth Factor

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Abstract
Since endothelial damage is a trigger for the progression of atherosclerosis, we evaluated the clinical utility of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) in relation to peripheral blood flow and regulation of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), an angiogenic growth factor, in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Fourteen male patients with PAD who showed the characteristic symptoms of arteriosclerosis obliterans (Fontaine I: n =2; Fontaine II: n =4; Fontaine III: n =2; Fontaine IV: n =6), confirmed by angiography, were enrolled in this study. Patients were administrated synthetic PGE1 at a dose of 120μg per day for 14 consecutive days. Measurement of peripheral blood flow and serum HGF concentration was performed before PGE1 treatment and after 14 days of administration. Interestingly, intravenous administration of PGE1 for 2 weeks significantly increased the blood flow as assessed by a laser Doppler imager (p p in vitro culture system. PGE1 increased HGF production and the growth of human cultured vascular endothelial cells. The stimulatory effect of PGE1 on HGF production might be due to an increase in cAMP, since forskolin and 8-bromo-cAMP induced HGF production. In conclusion, we demonstrated that administration of PGE1 stimulated peripheral blood flow, accompanied by an increase in systemic HGF concentration. Also, our in vitro data suggested that PGE1 augmented not only the systemic HGF level, but also local HGF production, probably through cAMP accumulation, resulting in improvement of endothelial function and blood flow. (Hypertens Res 2004; 27: 85-91)