Angiopoietin-2 early increase to predict benefit from regorafenib in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients: The prospective REGOLAND study.

e15566 Background: Regorafenib is a treatment option for refractory mCRC patients with no validated predictors of benefit. We previously showed that, among several circulating angiogenic factors, low baseline Ang-2 and Tie-2 plasma levels were associated with good prognosis and that the early increase of Ang-2 during the treatment could predict benefit from regorafenib ( Antoniotti et al, J Clin Oncol 36:675-675, 2018). To prospectively validate these retrospective findings, we conducted the REGOLAND study. Methods: Ang-2 and Tie-2 were assessed by ELISA on plasma samples collected at baseline (d1) and after 15 days (d15) of treatment in a cohort of mCRC patients receiving regorafenib, as per indication. To detect a HR for PFS of 0.50 in favour of the early increase (Δd15-d1) of Ang-2 levels, setting two-sided α = 0.05 and β = 0.10, 87 events were required according to Schoenfeld design. Comparisons among concentrations of each marker at d1 and d15 were performed by Wilcoxon test. Median values at baseline were used as cut-off to discriminate patients with low versus high plasma levels and their correlation with outcome was analysed. Results: One hundred patients were included. Median PFS and OS were 2.5 and 6.7 months, respectively. The early increase of Ang-2 at d15 was reported in 42 patients and was associated with longer PFS (median 2.7 vs 2.4 months; HR for PFS: 0.72 [95%CI:0.48-1.08], P = 0.095). As compared to d1, an overall decrease of Tie-2 levels at d15 was observed ( P = 0.007), but it was not associated with clinical outcome. Low levels of Ang-2 at baseline were associated with longer PFS (HR: 0.59 [95%CI:0.39-0.89], P = 0.005) and OS (HR:0.62 [95%CI:0.41-0.94], P = 0.017), while Tie-2 levels were not. In the multivariate model, the association of Ang-2 levels with PFS was confirmed (HR:0.48 [95%CI:0.31-0.76], P = 0.001), but not with OS (HR: 0.80 [95%CI:0.49-1.28], P = 0.351). Conclusions: Ang-2 is a prognostic marker and its early modulation predicts clinical benefit among mCRC patients treated with regorafenib. We hypothesize that Ang-2 levels early increase as a consequence of the successful inhibition of Tie-2 by regorafenib that leads to a compensatory increase of the ligand and correlates with anti-tumour activity.

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Plasma levels of apolipoprotein E, APOE genotype, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in 105 949 individuals from a white general population cohort

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/eurheartj/ehz402 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (33) ◽

pp. 2813-2824 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Katrine L Rasmussen ◽

Anne Tybjærg-Hansen ◽

Børge G Nordestgaard ◽

Ruth Frikke-Schmidt

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Cancer Mortality ◽

Plasma Levels ◽

Apoe Genotype ◽

High Plasma ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Specific Mortality ◽

General Population Cohort ◽

Low Levels

Abstract Aims To determine whether plasma apoE levels and APOE genotype are associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Methods and results Using a prospective cohort design with 105 949 white individuals from the general population, we tested the association between plasma apoE at study enrolment and death during follow-up, and whether this was independent of APOE genotype. We confirmed the well-known association between APOE genotypes and mortality. For all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality, high levels of apoE were associated with increased risk, while for dementia-associated mortality low levels were associated with increased risk. For the highest vs. the fifth septile of plasma apoE, hazard ratios (HRs) were 1.20 (95% confidence interval 1.12–1.28) for all-cause mortality, 1.28 (1.13–1.44) for cardiovascular mortality, and 1.18 (1.05–1.32) for cancer mortality. Conversely, for the lowest vs. the fifth septile the HR was 1.44 (1.01–2.05) for dementia-associated mortality. Results were similar in analyses restricted to APOE ɛ33 carriers. Examining genetically determined plasma apoE, a 1 mg/dL increase conferred risk ratios of 0.97 (0.92–1.03) for cardiovascular mortality and 1.01 (0.95–1.06) for cancer mortality, while a 1 mg/dL decrease conferred a risk ratio of 1.70 (1.36–2.12) for dementia-associated mortality. Conclusion High plasma levels of apoE were associated with increased all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality, however of a non-causal nature, while low levels were causally associated with increased dementia-associated mortality.

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Synthesis and Anti – Tumour Activity of Novel Camptothecin – Bile Acid Analogues

Letters in Drug Design & Discovery ◽

10.2174/157018011796576006 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 698-703 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Q.-Y. Li ◽

Y. Gao ◽

W. Qiu ◽

Y.-G. Zu ◽

L. Su ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bile Acid ◽

Anti Tumour Activity ◽

Tumour Activity

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Removal of elevated circulating angiopoietin-2 by plasma exchange – A pilot study in critically ill patients with thrombotic microangiopathy and anti-glomerular basement membrane disease

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1160/th10-02-0138 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 104 (11) ◽

pp. 1038-1043 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Carsten Hafer ◽

Jan Kielstein ◽

Marion Haubitz ◽

Hermann Haller ◽

Svjetlana Lovric ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Basement Membrane ◽

Plasma Exchange ◽

Critically Ill ◽

Glomerular Basement Membrane ◽

Critically Ill Patients ◽

Plasma Levels ◽

Vascular Inflammation ◽

Endothelial Damage ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Angiopoietin 2

SummaryIn critically ill patients, the massive release of angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) from Weibel-Palade bodies interferes with protective angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1)/Tie2 signalling in endothelial cells, thus leading to vascular inflammation and subsequent organ-dysfunction. We hypothesised that plasma exchange (PE) is efficient for lowering excess Ang-2 levels in critically ill patients with thrombocytic microangiopathy (TMA) or anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) disease. Plasma Ang-1 and Ang-2 were measured by immuno-luminometric assays in patients with TMA (n=9) or anti-GBM disease (n=4) before and after up to four PE sessions. Twenty apparently healthy volunteers served as controls. Median (IQR) plasma levels of Ang-2 were markedly increased in patients with TMA (7.3 (2.4–21.1) ng/ml) and anti-GBM disease (5.8 (3.4–7.0) ng/ml) compared to healthy controls (1.0 (0.9–1.4) ng/ml, p <0.001). Moreover, Ang-1 plasma levels were decreased in both, TMA (1.02 (0.62–1.62) ng/ml) and anti-GBM disease patients (0.74 (0.59–3.62) ng/ml) compared to healthy controls (2.5 (1.93–3.47) ng/ ml, p <0.005). During a total of 32 treatments, PE effectively lowered elevated mean (SD) Ang-2 plasma levels by 36.7 ± 19.6 % per treatment (p <0.0001), whereas low Ang-1 plasma levels remained unchanged (0.3 ± 58.5 %; p =0.147). Ang-2 levels declined to almost normal values during ≤4 PE treatments (Friedman´s test p <0.0001). PE is an effective method to remove excess circulating Ang-2. It remains to be elucidated if the removal of Ang-2 is crucial to ameliorate endothelial damage in critically ill patients with severely altered endothelial integrity.

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Markers of endothelial and epithelial pulmonary injury in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ICU patients

Critical Care ◽

10.1186/s13054-021-03499-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Savino Spadaro ◽

Alberto Fogagnolo ◽

Gianluca Campo ◽

Ottavio Zucchetti ◽

Marco Verri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plasma Levels ◽

Endothelial Injury ◽

University Hospital ◽

Intercellular Adhesion Molecule ◽

Secondary Outcome ◽

Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 ◽

Mechanically Ventilated ◽

Adhesion Protein ◽

Alveolar Epithelial ◽

Angiopoietin 2

Abstract Background Biomarkers can be used to detect the presence of endothelial and/or alveolar epithelial injuries in case of ARDS. Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion protein-1 (VCAM-1), P-selectin and E-selectin are biomarkers of endothelial injury, whereas the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) reflects alveolar epithelial injury. The aims of this study were to evaluate whether the plasma concentration of the above-mentioned biomarkers was different 1) in survivors and non-survivors of COVID-19-related ARDS and 2) in COVID-19-related and classical ARDS. Methods This prospective study was performed in two COVID-19-dedicated Intensive Care Units (ICU) and one non-COVID-19 ICU at Ferrara University Hospital. A cohort of 31 mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 ARDS and a cohort of 11 patients with classical ARDS were enrolled. Ang-2, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, P-selectin, E-selectin and RAGE were determined with a bead-based multiplex immunoassay at three time points: inclusion in the study (T1), after 7 ± 2 days (T2) and 14 ± 2 days (T3). The primary outcome was to evaluate the plasma trend of the biomarker levels in survivors and non-survivors. The secondary outcome was to evaluate the differences in respiratory mechanics variables and gas exchanges between survivors and non-survivors. Furthermore, we compared the plasma levels of the biomarkers at T1 in patients with COVID-19-related ARDS and classical ARDS. Results In COVID-19-related ARDS, the plasma levels of Ang-2 and ICAM-1 at T1 were statistically higher in non-survivors than survivors, (p = 0.04 and p = 0.03, respectively), whereas those of P-selectin, E-selectin and RAGE did not differ. Ang-2 and ICAM-1 at T1 were predictors of mortality (AUROC 0.650 and 0.717, respectively). At T1, RAGE and P-selectin levels were higher in classical ARDS than in COVID-19-related ARDS. Ang-2, ICAM-1 and E-selectin were lower in classical ARDS than in COVID-19-related ARDS (all p < 0.001). Conclusions COVID-19 ARDS is characterized by an early pulmonary endothelial injury, as detected by Ang-2 and ICAM-1. COVID-19 ARDS and classical ARDS exhibited a different expression of biomarkers, suggesting different pathological pathways. Trial registration NCT04343053, Date of registration: April 13, 2020

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Pregnancy-Induced High Plasma Levels of Soluble Endoglin in Mice Lead to Preeclampsia Symptoms and Placental Abnormalities

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22010165 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 165

Author(s):

Lucía Pérez-Roque ◽

Elena Núñez-Gómez ◽

Alicia Rodríguez-Barbero ◽

Carmelo Bernabéu ◽

José M. López-Novoa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plasma Levels ◽

Ex Vivo ◽

Clinical Manifestations ◽

High Plasma ◽

Trophoblast Invasion ◽

Future Research ◽

Soluble Factors ◽

Human Trophoblast ◽

Soluble Endoglin ◽

Pregnant Mice

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disease of high prevalence characterized by the onset of hypertension, among other maternal or fetal signs. Its etiopathogenesis remains elusive, but it is widely accepted that abnormal placentation results in the release of soluble factors that cause the clinical manifestations of the disease. An increased level of soluble endoglin (sEng) in plasma has been proposed to be an early diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of this disease. A pathogenic function of sEng involving hypertension has also been reported in several animal models with high levels of plasma sEng not directly dependent on pregnancy. The aim of this work was to study the functional effect of high plasma levels of sEng in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia in a model of pregnant mice, in which the levels of sEng in the maternal blood during pregnancy replicate the conditions of human preeclampsia. Our results show that wild type pregnant mice carrying human sEng-expressing transgenic fetuses (fWT(hsEng+)) present high plasma levels of sEng with a timing profile similar to that of human preeclampsia. High plasma levels of human sEng (hsEng) are associated with hypertension, proteinuria, fetal growth restriction, and the release of soluble factors to maternal plasma. In addition, fWT(hsEng+) mice also present placental alterations comparable to those caused by the poor remodeling of the spiral arteries characteristic of preeclampsia. In vitro and ex vivo experiments, performed in a human trophoblast cell line and human placental explants, show that sEng interferes with trophoblast invasion and the associated pseudovasculogenesis, a process by which cytotrophoblasts switch from an epithelial to an endothelial phenotype, both events being related to remodeling of the spiral arteries. Our findings provide a novel and useful animal model for future research in preeclampsia and reveal a much more relevant role of sEng in preeclampsia than initially proposed.

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