Cardiomyocyte hyperplasia after plasmid‐mediated vascular endothelial growth factor gene transfer in pigs with chronic myocardial ischemia

Abstract

In pigs with chronic myocardial ischemia, VEGF gene transfer induced cardiomyocyte cytokinesis, as revealed by cardiomyocyte hyperplasia. Our finding extends the previously reported mitogenic effect of VEGF on adult cardiomyocytes and supports the hypothesis that VEGF may have a therapeutic role in diseases characterized by myocardial cell loss.