Systemic influences contribute to prolonged microvascular rarefaction after brain irradiation: a role for endothelial progenitor cells.

ABSTRACT: Whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) induces profound cerebral microvascular rarefaction throughout the hippocampus. Despite the vascular loss and localized cerebral hypoxia, angiogenesis fails to occur, which subsequently induces long-term deficits in learning and memory. The mechanisms underlying the absence of vessel recovery after WBRT are unknown. We tested the hypotheses that vascular recovery fails to occur under control conditions as a result of loss of angiogenic drive in the circulation, chronic tissue inflammation, and/or impaired endothelial cell production/recruitment. We also tested whether systemic hypoxia, which is known to promote vascular recovery, reverses these chronic changes in inflammation and endothelial cell production/recruitment. Ten-week-old C57BL/6 mice were su

SUBMITTER: Ashpole NM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4166745 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature