Forearm Vascular Effects of VEGF in Man
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the Local In Vivo Forearm Vascular Effects of VEGF in Man
IRAS ID
179836
Contact name
Ninian N Lang
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Developments in the treatment of cancer have improved survival from a large number of tumours, including those affecting the kidneys, lungs and bowel. This is in part due to a group of chemotherapy drugs which block a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The majority of patients taking this group of drugs develop high blood pressure and they are also at increased risk of heart attack.
The longer-term aim of our research is to make an in vivo assessment of the mechanisms via which these complications might occur in order to understand how best to treat or prevent their occurrence. However, before undertaking these future studies we wish to examine the local effects of VEGF itself upon forearm arterial circulation responses in healthy subjects.
Synthetic VEGF (recombinant human VEGF [rhVEGF]) has previously been safely administered intravenously at systemic doses and also directly to the coronary arteries. It causes vasodilatation (blood vessel relaxation) and therefore increased blood flow. We wish to understand better the effect of local infusion of rhVEGF into the forearm arterial circulation at locally active, sub-systemic doses. We wish to examine the dose-dependent blood flow (vasodilator) response to rhVEGF and also to assess its effect upon the release of local blood clot dissolving factors (endogenous fibrinolytic factors, such as tissue plasminogen activator [t-PA]). We hypothesise that, at the local doses proposed, rhVEGF will cause increased forearm arterial blood flow and will stimulate the release of t-PA.
The study will be performed using forearm venous occlusion plethysmography. This is a robust, well-validated technique that is considered to be the gold standard method for assessing local vascular responses. It allows local responses to agents to be assessed at doses that are well below those that would have a systemic effect.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
15/WS/0127
Date of REC Opinion
8 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion