Published online Apr 14, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.2213
Revised: February 10, 2008
Published online: April 14, 2008
AIM: To investigate the significance of Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) expression and its relationship with angiogenesis during experimental fibrosis.
METHODS: Cirrhosis was induced in male Wistar rats by intraperitoneal administration of diethyl nitrosamine (DEN). The serial sections from liver tissues were stained with anti-CD34 and anti-TSP-1 antibodies before being quantitated by light microscopy.
RESULTS: Our results showed that of TSP-1 expression gradually increases according to the severity of fibrosis (GroupIvs group II, Group III and Group IV; Group II vs group III and group IV; group III vs group IV, P < 0.05). Moreover, TSP-1 expression was found to be correlated with angiogenesis (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: The correlative evidence of the link between TSP-1 and fibrosis or angiogenesis provided by this study suggests that besides its role as a strong promoter of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), TSP-1 might have an additional role in liver fibrogenesis by stimulating angiogenesis and this protein could be a potential target to prevent fibrogenesis in chronic inflammatory diseases of the liver.