Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and angiogenesis in cardiac myxoma: A study of fifteen patients

Abstract

Cardiac myxomas produce vascular endothelial growth factor, which probably induces angiogenesis for tumor growth.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor is an Autocrine Growth Factor for Cardiac Myxoma Cells

“…10 All tumors showed a positive immunohistochemical reaction for VEGF, whereas the adjacent atrial myocardium exhibited a negative reaction, indicating that expression of VEGF gene was confined to the tumor. Tumors with the highest expression of VEGF showed the greatest density of microvessels (angiogenesis), suggesting that VEGF expression by the myxoma induces and sustains angiogenesis for tumor growth.…”

“…Tumors with the highest expression of VEGF showed the greatest density of microvessels (angiogenesis), suggesting that VEGF expression by the myxoma induces and sustains angiogenesis for tumor growth. 10 Those authors, more recently, demonstrated that monocyte chemotactic protein-1, a potent monocyte chemoattractant, and thymidine phosphorylase, an angiogenic enzyme, were mainly located in myxoma cells and infiltrating macrophages, and CC chemokine receptor-2, a receptor for monocyte chemotactic protein-1, was primarily expressed in the infiltrating macrophages. 12 However, no previous studies have demonstrated the expression of the VEGF receptors, VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2, in cardiac myxomas.…”

“…9 Recently, it was reported that VEGF expression is upregulated in cardiac myxomas in association with a high microvessel density, which suggests that VEGF may play a key role in angiogenesis for myxomas. 10 Therefore, we hypothesized that cardiac myxomas may have an autocrine system regulating angiogenesis and tumor growth. In this report, we present evidence that cardiac myxoma cells express high concentrations of VEGF and its receptors, VEGFR-1 (flt-1) and VEGFR-2 (KDR/flk-1), and that VEGF acts as an autocrine growth factor in vitro.…”

Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection Associated with Atrial Myxoma

“…Multinucleate myxoma cells were present in excised tissue from 14 of the 17 myxoma cases in this study. HSV-1 antigen was present mainly in myxoma cells, found previously to produce interleukin 6 (IL-6) 28 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) 29 as do other HSV-1-infected cell types. High serum concentration of IL-6, thought to be responsible for the constitutional symptoms and immunological abnormalities in patients with atrial myxoma, 30 is also involved in HSV-1 reactivation from the neurons of sensory ganglia and protects mice from otherwise lethal HSV-1 infection.…”

Pulmonary venous drainage through a highly vascularized left atrial tumor

“…Although increased collateral flow through the left bronchial vessels may have contributed to left lung blood drainage, we suggest, based on CT and coronary angiography and tumor histology, a mechanism of drainage via highly vascularized tumor that serves as sponge which transfers blood from the higher-pressure compartment (pulmonary veins) to the lower-pressure compartment (left atrium). Highly vascular tumors in which vascular endothelial growth factor is the angiogenic trigger are typical of some cardiac tumors such as myxoma [5]. In summary, this patient presentation and unusual findings suggest a novel mechanism of pulmonary drainage in an obliterating tumor.…”