Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (Flk-1/KDR) antibody suppresses contact hypersensitivity

: The angiogenic mediator vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors (VEGFRs) have been studied extensively in neoplastic disease and some inflammatory conditions. Contact hypersensitivity (CHS) is a prototypic Langerhans' cell‐dependent, T‐helper (Th) 1 cell‐mediated inflammatory skin disease that is now also thought to involve angiogenic mediators. The purpose of our study was to examine the role of angiogenesis and VEGF in CHS. We demonstrated that VEGF production is up‐regulated in murine skin after challenge with dinitrofluorobenzene. Administration of a monoclonal antibody directed against the VEGFR‐2 (DC101) resulted in a 28.8% decrease in CHS response (P