Quantification of VEGF and Screening of Transcription Factor HIF-1α in Synovial Fluid of Polyarthritic Patients: Targets for Potential Anti-angiogenic Molecules

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a polyarticular inflammatory autoimmune disease and osteoarthritis (OA) is an inflammatory degenerative disease of the articular cartilage. The current study efforts have been made to understand the relationship between the angiogenic genes VEGF, its regulator HIF-1α and MVD in RA and OA. The level of VEGF in serum and synovial fluid was increased in both RA and OA, but the levels were slightly more in cases of RA compared to that of OA. A corresponding increase in expression of HIF-1α and MVD counts was also noted in both conditions. Similar to VEGF levels, the expression of HIF-1α , MVD and CD-31 counts was higher among RA patients. These results thus indicate that there is a significant association between the angiogenic peptide VEGF in serum and synovial fluids, expression levels of transcription factor HIF-1α and microvessel density in the synovium of polyarthritic patients. The increased expression and regulation of VEGF, HIF-1alpha and MVD in these chronic inflammatory conditions are not only early indicators but also potential targets for antiangiogenic factors in the therapeutics of novel drugs for these smoldering conditions.