Vascular endothelial growth factor A protein level and gene expression in intracranial meningiomas with brain edema

Damoun Nassehi*, Henrik Dyrbye, Morten Andresen, Carsten Thomsen, Marianne Juhler, Henning Laursen, Helle Broholm

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    Nassehi D, Dyrbye H, Andresen M, Thomsen C, Juhler M, Laursen H, Broholm H. Vascular endothelial growth factor A protein level and gene expression in intracranial meningiomas with brain edema. APMIS 2011; 119: 831-43. Meningiomas are the second most common primary intracranial tumors in adults. Although meningiomas are mostly benign, more than 50% of patients with meningioma develop peritumoral brain edema (PTBE), which may be fatal because of increased intracranial pressure. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an endothelial cell-specific mitogen and angiogen. VEGF-A protein, which is identical to vascular permeability factor, is a regulator of angiogenesis. In this study, 101 patients with meningiomas, and possible co-factors to PTBE, such as meningioma subtypes and tumor location, were examined. Forty-three patients had primary, solitary, supratentorial meningiomas with PTBE. In these, correlations in PTBE, edema index, VEGF-A protein, VEGF gene expression, capillary length, and tumor water content were investigated. DNA-branched hybridization was used for measuring VEGF gene expression in tissue homogenates prepared from frozen tissue samples. The method for VEGF-A analysis resembled an ELISA assay, but was based on chemiluminescence. The edema index was positively correlated to VEGF-A protein (p=0.014) and VEGF gene expression (p<0.05). The capillary length in the meningiomas was positively correlated to the PTBE (p=0.038). If VEGF is responsible for the formation of PTBE, the edema may be treated with the anti-VEGF drug Bevacizumab (Avastin), which has been shown to reduce PTBE in patients with glioblastoma multiforme.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)831-843
    Number of pages13
    JournalAPMIS
    Volume119
    Issue number12
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2011

    Keywords

    • Brain edema
    • Gene expression
    • Meningioma
    • VEGF

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