Eugene A. Woltering, MD, FACS

Octreotide acetate (Sandostatin), a somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (sst 2)-preferring somatostatin analog, inhibits angiogenesis in a dose-dependent fashion in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane model (CAM) and in the human placental vein angiogenesis model (HPVAM).[1,2] To explain these antiangiogenic effects, sst 2 gene expression in normal (resting) full-thickness human placental vein segments was compared to tissue-matched counterparts that initiated an angiogenic response in culture. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques, the sst 2 gene was found to be uniquely up-regulated in the angiogenic vessels, but not present in the tissue-matched resting (nonproliferative) vein segments.