Moderate levels of ethanol induce expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and stimulate angiogenesis

Alcohol abuse has a negative impact on human health; however, epidemiologic al studies show that moderate consumption of ethanol (EtOH) reduces the ris k of coronary heart disease, sudden cardiac death, and ischemic stroke. The mechanisms for these reductions in cardiovascular disease are not well est ablished. Using cultured coronary artery vascular smooth muscle cells, we f ound that moderate levels of EtOH (10 and 20 mM) caused dose-related increa ses in both vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA (Northern blot) expression (1.9- and 2.6-fold) and VEGF protein (ELISA) expression (19 and 68%) compared with control (P< 0.05). EtOH at 0.25 g.kg(-1).day(-1) (7 days ) increased VEGF mRNA expression by 1.48-fold over control, and increased v essel length density from 3.9 +/- 0.7 (control) to 6.0 +/- 0.3 mm/mm(2) (P< 0.05) in chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). We conclude that moderate l evels of ethanol can induce VEGF expression and stimulate angiogenesis in c hick CAM. Therefore, the results provide a theoretical basis for speculatin g that the cardiovascular-protective effects of moderate alcohol consumptio n may be partly mediated through VEGF-induced angiogenesis.