Mouse Bone Marrow-Derived Mast Cells Induce Angiogenesis by Tissue Engineering in Rats: Histological Evidence

Objective: Therapeutic angiogenesis is employed to induce vascular network formation and improve functional recovery in ischemia. The aim of this study is to find an appropriate method to recover local ischemic conditions. Materials and Methods: In this experimental survey, 20 male Wistar rats weighing approximately 200-250 g were randomly divided into four experimental groups respectively: ischemia group in which the femoral artery was transected; phosphate buffer solution group (PBS) in which the femoral artery transected location was immersed with PBS; chitosan (CHIT) group in which the transected location was immersed in a 50 mu L CHIT solution; and mast cell transplanted group in which the transected location was immersed with a mixture of 50 mu L CHIT and 50 mu L PBS that contained 1x10(6) mast cells. Results: On day 14 after surgery, mean numbers of blood vessels of different sizes in the CHIT/mast cell group significantly increased compared to the other experimental groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our data suggest that mast cell reconstitution could offer a new approach for therapeutic angiogenesis in cases of peripheral arterial diseases.