Angiogenesis-related gene expression during the first 24 hours of invasive aspergillosis in the lungs of BALB/c mice with different modes of immunosuppression. Gene expression in the lungs of mice immunosuppressed with (A) cyclophosphamide and cortisone acetate or (B) cortisone acetate alone was assessed using real-time quantitative PCR. Although expression of TNF-α was increased in both groups, the expression of genes encoding VEGF-A and bFGF, proangiogenic mediators whose expression is regulated by TNF-α, increased over time only in mice treated with cortisone acetate alone. In cyclophosphamide- and cortisone acetate–treated mice, expression of VEGF-R1, VEGF-R2, aFGF, and bFGF decreased significantly over time. (C) Gene expression in both groups 24 hours after infection, emphasizing the dissociation between proinflammatory cytokine and proangiogenic mediator gene expression in cyclophosphamide-treated mice. Gene names and their respective encoded proteins are as follows: Vegfa, vascular endothelial growth factor A; Fgf1, aFGF; Fgf2, bFGF; Flt1, FMS-related tyrosine kinase 1 (VEGF-R1); Kdr, kinase insert domain protein receptor (VEGF-R2); Hif1a, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α; Tnf, tumor necrosis factor α; and Cxcl5, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 5.