ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the stimulating effect of exogenous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on angiogenesis in glioblastoma (GBM). Methods Twenty adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into two groups, glioma group (C6 glioma cell intracerebral implantation, n=10) and glioma-H2S group (C6 glioma cell intracerebral implantation and sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) intraperitoneal injection, n=10). The tumor-bearing rat model was established by intracerebral injection of rat C6 glioma cells. After one week, normal saline was injected in glioma group and NaHS was injected in glio-ma-H2S group. Food and water were freely available during all phases of the experiment. After three weeks, rats were decapi-tated and brains were removed. HE staining was performed to show tumor structure and intratumoral angiogenesis. The immu-nohistochemical analysis was used to detect the expressions of CD34 and MMP-2, respectively. The microvessel density (MVD) in GBM was also measured. Results HE staining showed that the implanted tumors were predominantly spheroid with clear border and no capsule could be detected. The neovascular proliferations were observed in tumors. There were high-er expressions of CD34 and MMP-2 in glioma-H2S group. The value of MVD was significantly higher in glioma-H2S group than that of glioma group (P＜0.01). Conclusion Exogenous H2S serves as a stimulator of angiogenesis in the development of rat GBM, which may be related with the increased MMP-2 expression promoted by H2S.