Therapeutic angiogenesis. A single intra-arterial bolus of vascular endothelial growth factor augments revascularization in a rabbit ischemic hind limb model
S. Takeshita, L. P. Zheng, E. Brogi, M. Kearney, L. Q. Pu, S. Bunting, N. Ferrara, J. F. Symes, J. M. Isner

One of the first scientific papers to clearly demonstrate the therapeutic potential of angiogenic growth factor therapy was that published by Isner's group in 1994...

Intracoronary gene transfer of fibroblast growth factor–5 increases blood flow and contractile function in an ischemic region of the heart
F. J. Giordano, P. Ping, M. D. McKirnan, S. Nozaki, A. N. DeMaria, W. H. Dillmann, O. Mathieu-Costello, H. K. Hammond

This paper was the first to describe enhanced myocardial collateral support following in vivo delivery of an adenoviral vector...

Clinical evidence of angiogenesis after arterial gene transfer of phVEGF165 in patient with ischaemic limb
J. M. Isner, A. Pieczek, R. Schainfeld, R. Blair, L. Haley, T. Asahara, K. Rosenfield, S. Razvi, K. Walsh, J. F. Symes

An elegant demonstration of the translation of preclinical research into a clinically applied technique is given by this paper in which Isner describes the response of a patient receiving a plasmid vector expressing the 165-aminoacid isoform of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF165)...

Gene transfer of naked DNA encoding for three isoforms of vascular endothelial growth factor stimulates collateral development in vivo
S. Takeshita, Y. Tsurumi, T. Couffinhal, T. Asahara, C. Bauters, J. Symes, N. Ferrara, J. M. Isner

Collateral vessel development in chronic limb ischemia is promoted by naked plasmid vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) transfection: this is the groundbreaking point illustrated in this comprehensive article assessing the efficiency of gene transfection as well as histological and physiological evidence of angiogenesis in the rabbit hindlimb model...

Isolation of putative progenitor endothelial cells for angiogenesis
T. Asahara, T. Murohara, A. Sullivan, M. Silver, R. van der Zee, T. Li, B. Witzenbichler, G. Schatteman, J. M. Isner

With this exhaustive and seminal piece of work, Isner's group paved the way for a new approach to therapeutic angiogenesis...

Constitutive expression of phVEGF165 after intramuscular gene transfer promotes collateral vessel development in patients with critical limb ischemia
I. Baumgartner, A. Pieczek, O. Manor, R. Blair, M. Kearney, K. Walsh, J. M. Isner

This landmark study was the first to describe the effects of gene transfection in patients with peripheral vascular disease...

Transplantation of ex vivo expanded endothelial progenitor cells for therapeutic neovascularization
C. Kalka, H. Masuda, T. Takahashi, W. M. Kalka-Moll, M. Silver, M. Kearney, T. Li, J. M. Isner, T. Asahara

In this paper, Isner's group shows that an inherently impaired angiogenic potential can be overcome by delivering heterologous endothelial cell precursors...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (165) gene transfer augments circulating endothelial progenitor cells in human subjects
C. Kalka, H. Masuda, T. Takahashi, R. Gordon, O. Tepper, E. Gravereaux, A. Pieczek, H. Iwaguro, S. I. Hayashi, J. M. Isner, T. Asahara

In this fascinating study, the authors demonstrate that local delivery of cDNA encoding the 165- amino-acid isoform of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF165) can have systemic consequences that may augment the local angiogenic response...

Left ventricular electromechanical mapping to assess efficacy of phVEGF(165) gene transfer for therapeutic angiogenesis in chronic myocardial ischemia
P. R. Vale, D. W. Losordo, C. E. Milliken, M. Maysky, D. D. Esakof, J. F. Symes, J. M. Isner

Building on observations made previously concerning direct intramyocardial injection of the 165-amino-acid isoform of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF165) cDNA, this remarkable study looks at a contemporary technique capable of providing "real-time" information regarding myocardial electrical and mechanical activity...

Favorable effect of VEGF gene transfer on ischemic peripheral neuropathy
P. Schratzberger, G. Schratzberger, M. Silver, C. Curry, M. Kearney, M. Magner, J. Alroy, L. S. Adelman, D. H. Weinberg, A. H. Ropper, J. M. Isner

This remarkable study provides a fascinating insight into the effects of the 165-amino-acid isoform of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF165) on ischemic peripheral neuropathy...