scholarly journals PRH/Hhex Controls Cell Survival through Coordinate Transcriptional Regulation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Signaling

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 2120-2134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Noy ◽  
Hannah Williams ◽  
Anyaporn Sawasdichai ◽  
Kevin Gaston ◽  
Padma-Sheela Jayaraman

ABSTRACT The proline-rich homeodomain protein (PRH) plays multiple roles in the control of gene expression during embryonic development and in the adult. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a mitogen that stimulates cell proliferation and survival via cell surface receptors including VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2. VEGF signaling is of critical importance in angiogenesis and hematopoiesis and is elevated in many tumors. Here we show that PRH binds directly to the promoter regions of the Vegf, Vegfr-1, and Vegfr-2 genes and that in each case PRH represses transcription. We demonstrate that overexpression or knockdown of PRH directly impinges on the survival of both leukemic and tumor cells and that the modulation of VEGF and VEGF receptor signaling by PRH mediates these effects. Our findings demonstrate that PRH is a key regulator of the VEGF signaling pathway and describe a mechanism whereby PRH plays an important role in tumorigenesis and leukemogenesis.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aniket Ramshekar ◽  
M. Elizabeth Hartnett

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of blindness in children worldwide. Blindness can occur from retinal detachment caused by pathologic retinal angiogenesis into the vitreous, termed intravitreal neovascularization (IVNV). Although agents that interfere with the bioactivity of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are now used to treat IVNV, concerns exist regarding the identification of optimal doses of anti-VEGF for individual infants and the effect of broad VEGF inhibition on physiologic angiogenesis in external organs or in the retina of a preterm infant. Therefore, it is important to understand VEGF signaling in both physiologic and pathologic angiogenesis in the retina. In this manuscript, we review the role of receptors that interact with VEGF in oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) models that represent features of ROP pathology. Specifically, we discuss our work regarding the regulation of VEGFR2 signaling in retinal endothelial cells to not only reduce severe ROP but also facilitate physiologic retinal vascular and neuronal development.


Endocrinology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noriyuki Takahashi ◽  
Masanori T. Itoh ◽  
Bunpei Ishizuka

The intermediate filament protein nestin was originally found to be expressed in neuronal progenitor cells, but recent studies have shown that other cell types, including endocrine and vascular endothelial cells, express nestin. In the present study, we examined the expression and localization of nestin in the ovaries of developing, peripubertal, and adult rats. RT-PCR and Western blot analyses revealed that nestin mRNA and proteins were expressed in adult rat ovaries. Immunohistochemical analyses using adult rat ovaries showed that nestin was mainly localized to capillary endothelial cells of theca interna in follicles with more than two layers of granulosa cells and that its expression increased with follicle growth. Ontogenetically, ovarian nestin expression started at the peripubertal period when the first gonadotropin surge occurs. To test the possibility that gonadotropins induce nestin expression, prepubertal (postnatal d 21) rats were sc injected with equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) and/or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). A single injection of hCG, but not eCG, was sufficient to induce nestin expression in follicles, mainly in capillary endothelial cells of theca interna. Furthermore, pretreatment with an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor prevented the induction of the nestin expression by hCG. These findings demonstrate that the endogenous LH surge induces nestin expression in capillary endothelial cells of theca interna via the vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway. Nestin may be involved in angiogenesis in growing follicles, which is followed by follicle maturation and subsequent ovulation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Y Lu ◽  
Courtney K Domigan ◽  
Vaspour Antanesian ◽  
Yasuhiro Nakashima ◽  
Atsushi Nakano ◽  
...  

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the pivotal proangiogenic growth factors that has long contributed to our knowledge of blood vessel and circulatory maintenance as well as angiogenesis in both pathology and pathophysiology. However, the non-canonical functions of VEGF in cardiac morphogenesis have not been well characterized. Here, we examined how VEGF regulates cardiomyocyte cell fate. Using chimeric embryos harboring both wild type and VEGF-null embryonic stem cells, we observed that derivatives of VEGF null cells were preferentially recruited to the atrium of the heart in comparison to the ventricles. To further provide physiologic context of this finding, we used reporter-LacZ staining and RT-PCR and found that endogenous VEGF was indeed expressed at much lower levels in the atrium but highly expressed in the ventricle early in cardiac morphogenesis. These data lead to our hypothesis that cell-autonomous expression of VEGF is a determinant of atrial vs. ventricular cardiomyocyte cell fate. To test this hypothesis, we used a VEGF knock-in mouse model of Sm22Cre x Rosa 26 VEGF. VEGF overexpression in cardiomyocytes (and smooth muscle) at E8.5 resulted in lethality by P1 and thickened atrial and ventricular walls in mutant embryos as characterized by histology (H&E, IF). We further explored the molecular changes underlying this phenotype via microarray and RT-PCR and find disruptions in molecular markers necessary for wall development, specifically: Notch-1, BMP10, Nrg-1. Taken together, our data indicates that aberrant embryonic VEGF signaling disrupts several critical signaling pathways and that overexpression leads to disruption of cardiomyocyte proliferation and cardiac morphogenesis. These findings add to the foundation of better understanding heart development, laying the groundwork for future therapy of congenital and acquired cardiac disease.


Angiogenesis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 533-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine M. Thieltges ◽  
Dragana Avramovic ◽  
Chayne L. Piscitelli ◽  
Sandra Markovic-Mueller ◽  
Hans Kaspar Binz ◽  
...  

Development ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 145 (14) ◽  
pp. dev151019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinem Karaman ◽  
Veli-Matti Leppänen ◽  
Kari Alitalo

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