Dysfunctional Vasa Vasorum in Diabetic Peripheral Artery Obstructive Disease with Critical Lower Limb Ischaemia.

OBJECTIVES AND DESIGN: To establish whether in diabetic patients with peripheral artery obstructive disease (PAOD) vasa vasorum (vv) neoangiogenesis is altered with increased arterial damage. MATERIALS: Thirty-three patients with PAOD and critical lower limb ischaemia, 22 with type II diabetes. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry for endothelial cell markers (CD34 and von Willebrand Factor); real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to quantify arterial wall expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF); enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to assess blood VEGF; flow cytometry to detect circulating endothelial cells (CECs). RESULTS: Patients with PAOD and diabetes have a higher frequency (60% vs. 45%) of advanced atherosclerotic lesions and a significant reduction (p = 0.0003) in CD34(+) capillaries in the arterial media. Adventitial neoangiogenesis was increased equally (CD34(+) and vWF(+)) in all patients. Likewise, all patients have increased CEC and VEGF concentration in the blood as well as in-situ VEGF transcript expression. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PAOD have remarkable arterial damage despite increased in-situ and circulating expression of the pro-angiogenic VEGF; a dysfunctional vv angiogenesis was seen in diabetics which also showed a higher frequency of parietal damage; it is suggested that in diabetic arterial wall, injury is worsened by vv inability to finalise an effective VEGF-driven arterial wall neoangiogenesis.