26. Lentiviral Vector Delivery of vMIP-II Using Both Transplanted Endothelial and Progenitor Cells Enhances a Robust and Functional Angiogenesis In Vivo

Abstract

Therapies that stimulate angiogenesis are promising for revascularization of transplanted or ischemic tissues. Viral macrophage inflammatory protein-II (vMIP-II) is encoded by human herpesvirus 8 and may be both immunosuppressive and proangiogenic, though the latter is poorly characterized and only in vitro. We engineered a vMIP-II lentiviral gene vector, transduced both primary mature endothelial cells and progenitors, and transplanted these in Matrigel templates as an in vivo angiogenesis model.