Local Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 Therapy Increases Collateral Artery Formation in Apolipoprotein E–Deficient Mice but Induces Systemic Monocytic CD11b Expression, Neointimal Formation, and Plaque Progression

Abstract
Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) stimulates the formation of a collateral circulation on arterial occlusion. The present study served to determine whether these proarteriogenic properties of MCP-1 are preserved in hyperlipidemic apolipoprotein E–deficient (apoE −/− ) mice and whether it affects the systemic development of atherosclerosis. A total of 78 apoE −/− mice were treated with local infusion of low-dose MCP-1 (1 μg/kg per week), high-dose MCP-1 (10 μg/kg per week), or PBS as a control after unilateral ligation of the femoral artery. Collateral hindlimb flow, measured with fluorescent microspheres, significantly increased on a 1-week high-dose MCP-1 treatment (PBS 22.6±7.2%, MCP-1 31.3±10.3%; P P P P P −/− mice up to 2 months after the treatment. However, the local treatment did not preclude systemic effects on atherogenesis, leading to increased atherosclerotic plaque formation and changes in cellular content of plaques.