PUBLICATION

Thalidomide Effects in Patients with Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia During Therapeutic Treatment and in Fli-EGFP Transgenic Zebrafish Model

Authors
Peng, H.L., Yi, Y.F., Zhou, S.K., Xie, S.S., Zhang, G.S.
ID
ZDB-PUB-151127-4
Date
2015
Source
Chinese Medical Journal   128: 3050-3054 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Keywords
Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, thalidomide, zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Female
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins/genetics
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins/metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic/drug therapy*
  • Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic/metabolism
  • Thalidomide/therapeutic use*
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta3/genetics
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
26608985 Full text @ Chin. Med. J.
Abstract
Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by recurrent epistaxis, mucocutaneous telangiectasia, and arteriovenous malformations. The efficacy of traditional treatments for HHT is very limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic role of thalidomide in HHT patients and the effect in FLI-EGFP transgenic zebrafish model.
HHT was diagnosed according to Shovlin criteria. Five HHT patients were treated with thalidomide (100 mg/d). The Epistaxis Severity Score (ESS), telangiectasia spots, and hepatic computed tomography angiography (CTA) were used to assess the clinical efficacy of thalidomide. The Fli-EGFP zebrafish model was investigated for the effect of thalidomide on angiogenesis. Dynamic real-time polymerase chain reaction assay, ELISA and Western blotting from patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells and plasma were used to detect the expression of transforming growth factor beta 3 (TGF-β3) messenger RNA (mRNA) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein before and after 6 months of thalidomide treatment.
The average ESS before and after thalidomide were 6.966 ± 3.093 and 1.799 ± 0.627, respectively (P = 0.009). The "telangiectatic spot" on the tongue almost vanished; CTA examination of case 2 indicated a smaller proximal hepatic artery and decreased or ceased hepatic artery collateral circulation. The Fli-EGFP zebrafish model manifested discontinuous vessel development and vascular occlusion (7 of 10 fishes), and the TGF-β3 mRNA expression of five patients was lower after thalidomide therapy. The plasma VEGF protein expression was down-regulated in HHT patients.
Thalidomide reverses telangiectasia and controls nosebleeds by down-regulating the expression of TGF-β3 and VEGF in HHT patients. It also leads to vascular remodeling in the zebrafish model.
Genes / Markers
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping