Objective— Since the macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) has been shown to stimulate differentiation and proliferation of monocyte/macrophage lineage and to be involved in the process of neointimal formation after vascular injury, we tested the effects of M-CSF on the recruitment of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells in neointimal formation after vascular injury in mice.

Methods and Results— Wire-mediated vascular injury was produced in the femoral artery of C57BL/6 mice. Recombinant human M-CSF [500 μg/(kg·day)] or saline (control) was administered for 10 consecutive days, starting 4 days before the injury. Treatment with M-CSF accelerated neointimal formation in the early phase after injury, and this neointimal lesion mainly consisted of bone marrow-derived cells. M-CSF treatment had no effect on the mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs: CD34⁺/Flk-1⁺) and reendothelialization after injury. The stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) was markedly expressed in the neointima and media after injury, whereas CXCR4⁺ cells were observed in the neointima. Further, a novel CXCR4 antagonist, AMD3100, significantly attenuated the M-CSF-induced neointimal formation.

Conclusions— These findings suggest that M-CSF accelerated neointimal formation after vascular injury via the SDF-1–CXCR4 system, and the inhibition of this system has therapeutic potential for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.