Vie Cheng, Jan-Kan Chen

Glycosaminoglycans, Angiogenesis, Hyaluronic Acid,

The effects of hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) of glycosaminoglycans on the in vivo angiogenesis were studied in rats.　Polyester Sponge disc (1.1 cm x 0.5 cm) absorbed with or without hyaluronic acid or chondroitin sulfate was implanted subcutaneously in the back of adult Sprague-Dawley rat.　Angiogenesis was quantified by counting the volume density of blood vessels in histological serial sections of sponge disc. Also, one to three weeks after implantation, 125I-acetyl tyrosine was injected in the femoral vein to measured the radioactivity that was circulated into the sponge disc to quantitate the extent of angiogenesis.　Morphologic analysis of the 14d-old sponge discs showed that the volume density of blood vessels in hyaluronic acid or chondroitin sulfate treated sponge discs was significantly increased compared to that of the control discs (P<0.05).　By day 21th, there were signs of capillary regression, as a result, the amounts of capillaries in control and experimental discs were about the same. The results of 125I-acetyl tyrosine injection also indicated that the radioactivity was significantly increased (P<0.05) at 14d in hyaluronic acid (3 mg/ml) and chondroitin sulfate (3 mg/ml) treated sponge discs.　The differences were diminished by day 21th. This study suggest that hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate could enhance in vivo angiogenesis and may play a role in the regulation of angiogenesis in wound healing, however, the underlying mechanism is currently unclear.