Angiostatin gene transfer: Inhibition of tumor growth in vivo by blockage of endothelial cell proliferation associated with a mitosis arrest

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) plays an important role in vascular development, including the regulation of endothelial cell (EC) adhesion, migration, proliferation, and survival. 3’-deoxyadenosine (cordycepin) is known to suppress FAK expression, cell migration, and the epithelial–mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, whether cordycepin affects FAK expression and cellular functions in ECs and the specific molecular mechanism remain unclear. In this study, we found that cordycepin suppressed FAK expression and the phosphorylation of FAK (p-FAK) at Tyr397 in ECs. Cordycepin inhibited the proliferation, wound healing, transwell migration, and tube formation of ECs. Confocal microscopy revealed that cordycepin significantly reduced FAK expression and decreased focal adhesion number of ECs. The suppressed expression of FAK was accompanied by induced p53 and p21 expression in ECs. Finally, we demonstrated that cordycepin suppressed angiogenesis in an in vivo angiogenesis assay and reduced HCC tumor growth in a xenograft nude mice model. Our study indicated that cordycepin could attenuate cell proliferation and migration and may result in the impairment of the angiogenesis process and tumor growth via downregulation of FAK and induction of p53 and p21 in ECs. Therefore, cordycepin may be used as a potential adjuvant for cancer therapy.

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Calreticulin and Calreticulin Fragments Are Endothelial Cell Inhibitors That Suppress Tumor Growth

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v94.7.2461.419a26_2461_2468 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 94 (7) ◽

pp. 2461-2468 ◽

Cited By ~ 129

Author(s):

Sandra E. Pike ◽

Lei Yao ◽

Joyce Setsuda ◽

Karen D. Jones ◽

Barry Cherney ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

Cell Proliferation ◽

Endothelial Cell ◽

Tumor Growth ◽

Angiogenesis Inhibitors ◽

Full Length ◽

Endothelial Cell Proliferation ◽

Proliferation In Vitro

Several angiogenesis inhibitors are fragments of larger proteins that are themselves not active as angiogenesis inhibitors. Vasostatin, the N-terminal domain of calreticulin inclusive of amino acids 1-180, is an angiogenesis inhibitor that exerts antitumor effects in vivo. In the present study, we examined whether the full-length calreticulin molecule shares the antiangiogenic and antitumor activities of vasostatin. Similar to vasostatin, calreticulin selectively inhibited endothelial cell proliferation in vitro, but not cells of other lineages, and suppressed angiogenesis in vivo. When inoculated into athymic mice, calreticulin inhibited Burkitt tumor growth comparably with vasostatin. Calreticulin lacking the N-terminal 1-120 amino acids inhibited endothelial cell proliferation in vitro and Burkitt tumor growth in vivo comparably with vasostatin. An internal calreticulin fragment encompassing amino acids 120-180 also inhibited endothelial cell proliferation in vitro and angiogenesis in vivo comparably with calreticulin and vasostatin. These results suggest that the antiangiogenic activities of vasostatin reside in a domain that is accessible from the full-length calreticulin molecule and localize to calreticulin N-terminal amino acids 120-180. Thus, calreticulin and calreticulin fragments are inhibitors of angiogenesis that directly target endothelial cells, inhibit angiogenesis, and suppress tumor growth. This information may be critical in designing targeted inhibitors of pathological angiogenesis that underlies cancer and other diseases.

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Kallistatin Inhibits Endothelial Cell Proliferation, Migration and Adhesion in Vitro and Angiogenesis in the Ischemic Hindlimb of Rats

Hypertension ◽

10.1161/hyp.36.suppl_1.706-e ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 36 (suppl_1) ◽

pp. 706-707

Author(s):

Robert Q Miao ◽

Jun Agata ◽

Lee Chao ◽

Julie Chao

Keyword(s):

Cell Proliferation ◽

Endothelial Cell ◽

Gene Delivery ◽

Fluorescent Protein ◽

Regional Blood Flow ◽

Endothelial Cell Proliferation ◽

Hek 293

P76 Kallistatin is a serine proteinase inhibitor (serpin) which has multifunctions including regulation of tissue kallikrein activity, blood pressure, inflammation and neointima hyperplasia. In this study, we investigated the potential role of kallistatin in vascular biology by studying its effects on the proliferation, migration and adhesion of cultured primary human endothelial cells in vitro, and angiogenesis in the ischemic hindlimb of rats. Purified kallistatin significantly inhibits cultured endothelial cell proliferation, migration and adhesion induced by VEGF or bFGF. To further investigate the role of kallistatin in vascular growth in vivo, we prepared adenovirus carrying the human kallistatin gene under the control of the cytomegalovirus promoter/enhancer (Ad.CMV-cHKBP). Expression of recombinant human kallistatin in HEK 293 cells transfected with Ad.CMV-cHKBP was identified by a specific ELISA. The effect of adenovirus-mediated kallistatin gene delivery on angiogenesis was evaluated in a rat model of hindlimb ischemia. Adenovirus carrying the human kallistatin or green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene were injected locally into the ischemic adductor at the time of surgery. Histological and morphometric analysis at 14 days post injection showed that adenovirus-mediated kallistatin gene delivery significantly reduced capillary density in the ischemic muscle as compared to that of control rats injected with GFP. The anti-angiogenic effect of kallistatin was associated with reduced regional blood flow in the ischemic hindlimb measured by microsphere assays. Expression of human kallistatin was identified in the injected muscle and immunoreactive human kallistatin levels were measured in the muscle and in the circulation of rats following kallistatin gene delivery. These results demonstrate a novel role of kallistatin in the inhibition of angiogenesis and in vascular remodeling.

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Prenatal inflammation impairs intestinal microvascular development through a TNF-dependent mechanism and predisposes newborn mice to necrotizing enterocolitis

AJP Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpgi.00332.2018 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 317 (1) ◽

pp. G57-G66 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Xiaocai Yan ◽

Elizabeth Managlia ◽

Xiao-Di Tan ◽

Isabelle G. De Plaen

Keyword(s):

Cell Proliferation ◽

Endothelial Cell ◽

Necrotizing Enterocolitis ◽

Endothelial Cell Proliferation ◽

Vegf Receptor ◽

Fetal Serum ◽

Prenatal Inflammation ◽

Vegfr2 Signaling

Prenatal inflammation is a risk factor for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and it increases intestinal injury in a rat NEC model. We previously showed that maldevelopment of the intestinal microvasculature and lack of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor 2 (VEGFR2) signaling play a role in experimental NEC. However, whether prenatal inflammation affects the intestinal microvasculature remains unknown. In this study, mouse dams were injected intraperitoneally with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or saline at embryonic day 17. Neonatal intestinal microvasculature density, endothelial cell proliferation, and intestinal VEGF-A and VEGFR2 proteins were assessed in vivo. Maternal and fetal serum TNF concentrations were measured by ELISA. The impact of TNF on the neonatal intestinal microvasculature was examined in vitro and in vivo, and we determined whether prenatal LPS injection exacerbates experimental NEC via TNF. Here we found that prenatal LPS injection significantly decreased intestinal microvascular density, endothelial cell proliferation, and VEGF and VEGFR2 protein expression in neonatal mice. Prenatal LPS injection increased maternal and fetal serum levels of TNF. TNF decreased VEGFR2 protein in vitro in neonatal endothelial cells. Postnatal TNF administration in vivo decreased intestinal microvasculature density, endothelial cell proliferation, and VEGF and VEGFR2 protein expression and increased the incidence of severe NEC. These effects were ameliorated by stabilizing hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, the master regulator of VEGF. Furthermore, prenatal LPS injection significantly increased the incidence of severe NEC in our model, and the effect was dependent on endogenous TNF. Our study suggests that prenatal inflammation increases the susceptibility to NEC, downregulates intestinal VEGFR2 signaling, and affects perinatal intestinal microvascular development via a TNF mechanism. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This report provides new evidence that maternal inflammation decreases neonatal intestinal VEGF receptor 2 signaling and endothelial cell proliferation, impairs intestinal microvascular development, and predisposes neonatal mouse pups to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) through inflammatory cytokines such as TNF. Our data suggest that alteration of intestinal microvascular development may be a key mechanism by which premature infants exposed to prenatal inflammation are at risk for NEC and preserving the VEGF/VEGF receptor 2 signaling pathway may help prevent NEC development.

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Lung endothelial cell proliferation in normal and pulmonary hypertensive neonatal calves

AJP Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajplung.1998.275.3.l593 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 275 (3) ◽

pp. L593-L600 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Leopold Stiebellehner ◽

James K. Belknap ◽

Beverly Ensley ◽

Alan Tucker ◽

E. Christopher Orton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Proliferation ◽

Endothelial Cells ◽

Endothelial Cell ◽

Pulmonary Artery ◽

Main Pulmonary Artery ◽

Endothelial Cell Proliferation ◽

Hemodynamic Changes ◽

Vascular Segment ◽

Neonatal Calves

Tremendous changes in pressure and flow occur in the pulmonary and systemic circulations after birth, and these hemodynamic changes should markedly affect endothelial cell replication. However, in vivo endothelial replication rates in the neonatal period have not been reported. To label replicating endothelial cells, we administered the thymidine analog bromodeoxyuridine to calves ∼1, 4, 7, 10, and 14 days old before they were killed. Because we expected the ratio of replicating to nonreplicating cells to vary with vascular segment, we examined the main pulmonary artery, a large elastic artery, three sizes of intrapulmonary arteries, the aorta, and the carotid artery. In normoxia for arteries < 1,500 μm, ∼27% of the endothelial cells were labeled on day 1 but only ∼2% on day 14. In the main pulmonary artery, only ∼4% of the endothelial cells were labeled on day 1 and ∼2% on day 14. In contrast, in the aorta, ∼12% of the endothelial cells were labeled on day 1 and ∼2% on day 14. In chronically hypoxic animals, only ∼14% of the endothelial cells were labeled on day 1 in small lung arteries and ∼8% were still labeled on day 14. We conclude that the postnatal circulatory adaptation to extrauterine life includes significant changes in endothelial cell proliferation that vary dramatically with time and vascular location and that these changes are altered in chronic hypoxia.

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