Impaired revascularization in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes is associated with dysregulation of a complex angiogenic-regulatory network.

OBJECTIVE Diabetes is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases associated with impaired angiogenesis or increased endothelial cell apoptosis. METHODS AND RESULTS Here it is shown that angiogenic repair of ischemic hindlimbs was impaired in Lepr(db/db) mice, a leptin receptor-deficient model of diabetes, compared with wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice, as evaluated by laser Doppler flow and capillary density analyses. To identify molecular targets associated with this disease process, hindlimb cDNA expression profiles were created from adductor muscle of Lepr(db/db) and WT mice before and after hindlimb ischemia using Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Expression Set microarrays. The expression patterns of numerous angiogenesis-related proteins were altered in Lepr(db/db) versus WT mice after ischemic injury. These transcripts included neuropilin-1, vascular endothelial growth factor-A, placental growth factor, elastin, and matrix metalloproteinases implicated in blood vessel growth and maintenance of vessel wall integrity. CONCLUSIONS These data illustrate that impaired ischemia-induced neovascularization in type 2 diabetes is associated with the dysregulation of a complex angiogenesis-regulatory network.