Angiopoietin-2 causes inflammation in vivo by promoting vascular leakage

Angiopoietins (Angs) are endothelium-selective ligands that exert most of their actions through the Tie-2 receptor. It is widely accepted that Ang-1 promotes the structural integrity of blood vessels and exhibits anti-inflammatory properties. In contrast, the role of Ang-2 remains less clear because it has been shown to behave as a Tie-2 agonist or antagonist under different experimental conditions. To define the role of Ang-2 in acute inflammation, we studied the effects of recombinant Ang-2 administration in vivo. We show herein that Ang-2, but not Ang-1, induces edema formation in the mouse paw in a dose-dependent manner; the edema seems to be fast-peaking (maximum at 30 min) and resolves within 4 h. The effect of Ang-2 is blocked by the coadministration with a soluble form of the Tie-2 receptor or Ang-1. NO and prostaglandin E₂ levels in mouse paw following the injection of Ang-2 remained unaltered, suggesting that the action of Ang-2 does not involve these mediators. In addition, Ang-2 exerted a weak stimulatory effect on leukocyte migration in the mouse paw. Similarly, Ang-2 injected into the mouse air pouch produced only a modest effect on cell extravasation that peaked at 30 min. However, when cell migration was elicited using zymosan, Ang-2 significantly inhibited leukocyte migration. We conclude that Ang-2 by itself stimulates the extravasation of cell-poor fluid, but in the presence of ongoing inflammation it reduces cellular infiltration in tissues.