HYPERHOMOCYSTEINEMIA MODULATES VEGF PLASMA LEVELS AND ITS EXPRESSION IN LEUCOCYTES IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS AND IN PATIENTS WITH PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE AND DIABETES MELLITUS | ||||
The Egyptian Journal of Surgery | ||||
Volume 24, Issue 2, April 2005, Page 66-72 PDF (218.54 K) | ||||
Document Type: Original Article | ||||
DOI: 10.21608/ejsur.2005.373137 | ||||
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Authors | ||||
Hussein M Atta* 1; Mahmoud A El-Rehani2; Salama R Abdel Raheim2 | ||||
1Departments of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, El-Minia University | ||||
2Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, El-Minia University | ||||
Abstract | ||||
Aim: Both homocysteine and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are implicated in development and progression of atherothrombotic vascular disease. We sought to determine whether there is a relationship between homocysteine and VEGF in healthy individuals and in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) or diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: Measurements of plasma homocysteine and VEGF and expression of VEGF in leucocytes were performed before and after intervention. Twelve healthy individuals were evaluated before and 4 h after methionine loading, whereas 10 patients with PAD and 15 patients with DM were evaluated before and 6 weeks after oral administration of B vitamins and folate. Results: Basal homocysteine was elevated in patients with PAD and DM (21.5±.9 and 19.9±1 µmol/l, respectively). Methionine resulted in significant elevation, while B vitamins resulted in significant reduction of homocysteine and VEGF and there was a significant correlation between homocysteine and VEGF changes (r = 0.73, p < 0.01). Moreover, VEGF mRNA expression in leucocytes was upregulated after methionine loading and was downregulated after B vitamins and folate treatment. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that B vitamins and folate can successfully lower plasma homocysteine and VEGF expression in leucocytes in patients with PAD and DM. | ||||
Keywords | ||||
Peripheral arterial disease; diabetes mellitus; homocysteine; vascular endothelial growth factor | ||||
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