Hirudo medicinalis: avascular tissues for clear-cut angiogenesis studies?

Basic studies on angiogenesis in normal and pathologic conditions, as well as research on drugs or genes/proteins that stimulate or regulate the angiogenic process, can rely on an increasing number of experimental models. Among non-mammalian models, Zebrafish is adopted by an increasing number of research groups. Moreover, angiogenesis and vasculogenesis in invertebrates like the leech Hirudo medicinalis share a high degree of similarity with the same processes occurring in humans, both under the structural/functional and biochemical points of view. Interestingly, Hirudo angiogenic growth factor receptors respond to corresponding human/mammalian recombinant growth factors and cytokines; in addition, Hirudo endogenous angiogenic growth factors and receptors react with antibodies against their human/mammalian counterparts. Furthermore, as it will be shown in this review, Hirudo has the unique advantage of having a virtually avascular muscular body wall, whereas the reliability of such a peculiar feature as a model for physiologically vascularised mammalian tissues has to be thoroughly investigated. Hirudo has proven so far to allow unambiguous, clear-cut studies on the angiogenic potential of gene-products or drugs, as well as on the anti-angiogenic compounds. This article will review the biology of angiogenesis in Hirudo and the data so far collected on angiogenesis stimulation/modulation in this model; an example describing a study on the biological activity of a naked DNA vector for angiogenesis gene therapy will also be provided.

Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.

Basic studies on angiogenesis in normal and pathologic conditions, as well as research on drugs or genes/proteins that stimulate or regulate the angiogenic process, can rely on an increasing number of experimental models.

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