LYMPHOCYTE-INDUCED ANGIOGENESIS - EFFECT OF DIFFERENT ANTIGENIC STIMULI

It is known that tumor cells activate spleen cells to induce an angiog enic response. In this report we studied whether different antigenic s timuli, other than tumor cells, were able to activate spleen lymphocyt es to induce angiogenesis in syngeneic combination (SLIA). For this pu rpose, mice were inoculated with sheep red blood cells (SRBC), allogen eic kidney and syngeneic fetal tissues. The effect of pregnancy (synge neic or allogeneic) on the ability of spleen cells to induce a neovasc ular response was also assessed. None of the different stimuli were ab le to induce spleen lymphocytes to evoke angiogenesis. Although alloge neic lymphocytes from virgin females induced a strong neovascular resp onse, the same population but from allogeneic pregnant mice, did not e voke this response. We conclude that tumor cells seem to be the only a ntigenic stimuli able to activate spleen lymphocytes to induce SLIA.