Protective effects of basic fibroblast growth factor in early atherosclerosis.

Objectives: The role of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in atherosclerotic plaque formation is incompletely understood. Although it may act as a proatherogenic factor due to its stimulatory effect on smooth muscle cell growth, previous studies have suggested that it may also have beneficial effects by reversing endothelial dysfunction in experimental models. Our purpose was to evaluate the effects of systemic chronic administration of basic FGF on the development of atherosclerotic plaques in a rabbit model. Method: We investigated the effect of bFGF or placebo (2.5 μg IV twice a week), begun on the same day as a cholesterol (2%) diet, and continued for 5 or 10 weeks, on in vitro reactivity, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression and plaque development (protocol 1; [Formula: See Text]). The effects of bFGF or placebo (2.5 μg IV once a week) were also studied in animals fed a 0.2% cholesterol diet and sacrificed at 3 months (protocol 2; [Formula: See Text]). Results were compared to th...