EFFECT OF EXPERIMENTAL THERAPY ON PULMONARY CONTENT OF HYPOXIA-INDUCIBLE FACTOR-1Α AND VASCULAR GROWTH FACTOR IN ACUTE LUNG INFLAMMATION IN RATS
D.S. Ziablitsev1, V.O. Kostenko2, V.V. Likhodievsky1, V.V. Mykhaylovska1, A.I. Kurchenko1
- Bogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine
- Poltava State Medical University, Poltava, Ukraine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/fz72.01.003

Abstract
Acute lung inflammation is characterized by critical tissue
hypoxia, a massive inflammatory cascade, and microvascular
thrombosis, which leads to high mortality and pulmonary
fibrosis, especially in severe viral infections, including
COVID-19. Key regulators of the cellular response to hy-
poxia are hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular
endothelial growth factor (VEGF), excessive activation of
which leads to pathological angiogenesis, increased vascular
permeability, and the formation of pulmonary fibrosis. The
effectiveness of experimental therapies aimed at blocking
angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors, sup-
pressing the inflammatory response with glucocorticoids, and
preventing microthrombosis with the anticoagulant heparin
was evaluated based on their effect on HIF-1α and VEGF
content in lung tissue. Acute lung inflammation was modeled
in male Wistar rats weighing 190-220 g (n = 45). From days
5 to 21, the rats were administered drugs by inhalation. After
this, a histological examination of the lung tissue was per-
formed, along with an immunoblotting analysis to determine
the content of HIF-1α and VEGF. It was found that the use of
the ACE2 blocker camostat mesylate, methylprednisolone, and
enoxaparin sodium reduced the content of HIF-1α in the lungs
compared to placebo. The dynamics of the monomeric form of
VEGF corresponded to changes in HIF-1α but decreased less
pronouncedly. Morphologically, the HIF-1α/VEGF inhibition
corresponded to the fibrosis reduction. The drugs used demon-
strated different effects: the maximum effect on HIF-1α was
observed with camostat mesylate, on the VEGF monomer was
enoxaparin sodium, and on fibrosis was methylprednisolone.
The revealed correlation between the reduction in tissue HIF-
1α/VEGF content and the reduction in inflammatory damage
and fibrosis substantiated the feasibility of further developing
these therapeutic approaches to prevent pulmonary inflamma -
tory complications.
Keywords:
acute lung inflammation; pulmonary fibrosis; hypoxia-inducible factor-1α; vasculoendothelial growth factor; ACE2 blocker; methylprednisolone; enoxaparin sodium.
References
- Recovery Collaborative Group, Horby P, Lim WS, Emberson JR, Mafham M, Bell JL, Linsell L, Staplin N, Brightling C, Ustianowski A, Elmahi E, Prudon B, Green C, Felton T, Chadwick D, Rege K, Fegan C, Chappell LC, Faust SN, Jaki T, Jeffery K, Montgomery A, Rowan K, Juszczak E, Baillie JK, Haynes R, Landray MJ. Dexamethasone in hospitalized patients with Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2021 Feb 25;384(8):693-704. doi: 10.1056/ NEJMoa2021436.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Zhang L, Dutta S, Xiong S, Chan M, Chan KK, Fan TM, Bailey KL, Lindeblad M, Cooper LM, Rong L, Gugliuzza AF, Shukla D, Procko E, Rehman J, Malik AB. Engineered ACE2 decoy mitigates lung injury and death induced by SARS-CoV-2 variants. Nat Chem Biol. 2022 Mar;18(3):342-51. doi: 10.1038/s41589-021-00965-6.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Spyropoulos AC, Goldin M, Giannis D, Diab W, Wang J, Khanijo S, Mignatti A, Gianos E, Cohen M, Sharifova G, Lund JM, Tafur A, Lewis PA, Cohoon KP, Rahman H, Sison CP, Lesser ML, Ochani K, Agrawal N, Hsia J, Anderson VE, Bonaca M, Halperin JL, Weitz JI. HEP-COVID Investigators. Efficacy and safety of therapeutic-dose heparin vs standard prophylactic or intermediate-dose heparins for thromboprophylaxis in high-risk hospitalized patients with COVID-19: The HEP-COVID Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Int Med. 2021 Dec 1;181(12):1612-20. doi: 10.1001/ jamainternmed.2021.6203.
- Zyablitsev SV, Penskyy PYu, Litvinets ML, Kovalova AV, Salamaha AA. Dynamics of morphological mani festations of the experimental acute aspiration bronchopneumonia development. Morphologia. 2021;15(1):48-59. [Ukrainian]. doi:10.26641/1997- 9665.2021.1.48-59.
CrossRef
- Ziablitsev DS. Morphogenesis of pulmonary damage in lipopolysaccharide-induced acute aspiration bronchopneumonia. Morphologia. 2021;15(4):48-55. [Ukrainian]. doi:10.26641/1997-9665.2021.4.48-55.
CrossRef
- Ziablitsev DS, Dyadik OO, Tikhomirov AO, Tsvetkova MM, Ziablitsev SV . Changes in the content and features of localization of angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) in acute experimental bronchopneumonia. Fiziol Zh. 2022;68(3):24-34. [Ukrainian]. doi:10.15407/ fz68.03.024.
CrossRef
- Ziablitsev DS, Mykhailovska VV, Kurchenko AI. Dynamics of the content of hypoxia-inducible factor-α (HIF-1α) and vascular growth factor (VEGF) in the pulmonary tissue during the development of hemorrhagic pneumonia with fibrosis. Med Sci Ukr. 2025;3(21):94- 105. [Ukrainian]. doi:10.32345/2664-4738.3.2025.10.
CrossRef
- Lotsios NS, Keskinidou C, Karagiannis SP, Papavassiliou KA, Papavassiliou AG, Kotanidou A, Dimopoulou I, Orfanos SE, Vassiliou AG. Expression and regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor signalling in acute lung inflammation. Cells. 2024 Dec 30;14(1):29. doi: 10.3390/ cells14010029.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Del Vecchio L, Locatelli F. Hypoxia response and acute lung and kidney injury: possible implications for therapy of COVID-19. Clin Kidney J. 2020 Sep 2;13(4):494-9. doi: 10.1093/ckj/sfaa149.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Ruan H, Zhang Q, Zhang YP, Li SS, Ran X. Unraveling the role of HIF-1α in sepsis: from pathophysiology to potential therapeutics - a narrative review. Crit Care. 2024 Вплив експериментальної терапії на легеневий вміст гіпоксііндуцибельного фактора-1α та фактора росту судин 15 Mar 27;28(1):100. doi: 10.1186/s13054-024-04885-4.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Evans CE. Hypoxia-inducible factor signaling in inflammatory lung injury and repair. Cells. 2022 Jan 6;11(2):183. doi:10.3390/cells11020183
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Apte RS, Chen DS, Ferrara N. VEGF in signaling and disease: beyond discovery and development. Cell. 2019 Mar 7;176(6):1248-64. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.01.021.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Jászai J, Schmidt MHH. Trends and challenges in tumor anti-angiogenic therapies. Cells. 2019 Sep 3;8(9):1102. doi: 10.3390/cells8091102.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Epstein Shochet G, Bardenstein-Wald B, McElroy M, Kukuy A, Surber M, Edelstein E, Pertzov B, Kramer MR, Shitrit D. Hypoxia inducible factor 1a supports a pro-fibrotic phenotype loop in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(7):3331. doi:10.3390/ ijms22073331.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Amano H, Matsui Y, Hatanaka K, Hosono K, Ito Y. VEGFR1-tyrosine kinase signaling in pulmonary fibrosis. Inflamm Regen. 2021;41(1):16. doi:10.1186/s41232- 021-00166-7.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- May J, Mitchell JA, Jenkins RG. Beyond epithelial damage: vascular and endothelial contributions to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. J Clin Invest. 2023;133(18):e172058. doi:10.1172/JCI172058.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Lee JW, Ko J, Ju C, Eltzschig HK. Hypoxia signaling in human diseases and therapeutic targets. Exp Mol Med. 2019;51(6):1-13.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Annese T, Ruggieri S, De Giorgis M, Ribatti D, Tamma R, Nico B. α-Methyl-prednisolone normalizes the PKC mediated brain angiogenesis in dystrophic mdx mice. Brain Res Bull. 2019;147:69-77.
CrossRef
PubMed
- Liu Y, Xiang D, Zhang H, Yao H, Wang Y. Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1: A potential target to treat acute lung injury. Oxid Med Cell Long. 2020;2020:8871476.
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Hanumegowda C, Mohan ME. Hypoxia inducible factor- 1α in pulmonary fibrosis: A promising therapeutic target. Eur J Med Health Sci. 2025 Mar;7(2):27-31. doi:10.24018/ejmed.2025.7.2.2256
CrossRef
- Xiang M, Jing H, Wang C, Novakovic V A, Shi J. Persistent lung injury and prothrombotic state in long COVID. Front Immunol. 2022 Apr 7;13:862522. doi:10.3389/ fimmu.2022.862522
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- Zhou J, Xia X, An X, Liu D, Zhao H, Sun Z, Li W, Huang Q. New perspectives on the progression of pulmonary fibrosis: the cascade from aberrant microvascular endothelial cell activation to fibrosis. Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Aug 21;12:1639043. doi:10.3389/ fmed.2025.1639043
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
- da Silva FPG, Matte R, Wiedmer DB, da Silva APG, Menin RM, Barbosa FB, Meneguzzi TAM, Pereira SB, Fausto AT, Klug L, Melim BP, Beltrão CJ. HIF-1α Pathway in COVID-19: A scoping review of its modulation and related treatments. Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Apr 28;26(9):4202. doi:10.3390/ijms26094202
CrossRef
PubMed PubMedCentral
|