The angiogenesis inhibitor endostatin impairs blood vessel maturation during wound healing.

Endostatin is a cleavage product of collagen XVIII that strongly inhibits tumor angiogenesis. To determine if endostatin affects other angiogenic processes, we generated full-thickness excisional wounds on the back of mice that were systemically treated with recombinant murine endostatin. No macroscopic abnormalities of the wound healing process were observed. Histological analysis revealed normal wound contraction and re-epithelialization, but a slight reduction in granulation tissue formation and reduced matrix deposition at the wound edge. The blood vessel density in the wounds of endostatin-treated mice was not affected. However, ultrastructural analysis demonstrated severe abnormalities in blood vessel maturation. The wound vessels in the endostatin-treated mice were narrowed or closed with an irregular luminal surface, resulting in a severe reduction in the number of functional vessels and extravasation of erythrocytes. Endostatin treatment did not affect the expression level and localization of collagen XVIII mRNA and protein. Furthermore, the angiogenesis regulators vascular endothelial growth factor, angiopoietin-1, and angiopoietin-2 were normally expressed in the wounds of endostatin-treated mice. However, expression of the major wound matrix proteins fibronectin and collagens I and III was significantly reduced. This reduction is likely to explain the reduced density of the wound matrix. Our results demonstrate that endostatin treatment reduces the number of functional blood vessels and the matrix density in the granulation tissue, but does not significantly affect the overall wound healing process.