Background— The process of arteriogenesis after occlusion of a major artery is poorly understood. We have used high-resolution microcomputed tomography (μ-CT) imaging to define the arteriogenic response in the mouse model of hindlimb ischemia and to examine the effect of placental growth factor-1 (PlGF-1) on this process.

Methods and Results— After common femoral artery ligation, μ-CT imaging demonstrated formation of collateral vessels originating near the ligation site in the upper limb and connecting to the ischemic calf muscle region. Three-dimensional μ-CT and quantitative image analysis revealed changes in the number of segments and the segmental volume of vessels, ranging from 8 to 160 μm in diameter. The medium-size vessels (48 to 160 μm) comprising 85% of the vascular volume were the major contributor (188%) to the change in vascular volume in response to ischemia. Intramuscular injections of Ad-PlGF-1 significantly increased Sca1⁺ cells in the circulation, α-actin–stained vessels, and perfusion of the ischemic hindlimb. These effects were predominantly associated with an increase in vascular volume contributed by the medium-size (96 to 144 μm) vessels as determined by μ-CT.

Conclusions— High-resolution μ-CT delineated the formation of medium-size collaterals representing a major vascular change that contributed to the restoration of vascular volume after ischemia. This effect is selectively potentiated by PlGF-1. Such selective enhancement of arteriogenesis by therapeutically administered PlGF-1 demonstrates a desirable biological activity for promoting the growth of functionally relevant vasculature.