Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in cartilage neovascularization and chondrocyte differentiation: auto-paracrine role during endochondral bone formation

2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.F. Carlevaro ◽  
S. Cermelli ◽  
R. Cancedda ◽  
F. Descalzi Cancedda

Vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular permeability factor (VEGF/VPF) induces endothelial cell migration and proliferation in culture and is strongly angiogenic in vivo. VEGF synthesis has been shown to occur in both normal and transformed cells. The receptors for the factor have been shown to be localized mainly in endothelial cells, however, the presence of VEGF synthesis and the VEGF receptor in cells other than endothelial cells has been demonstrated. Neoangiogenesis in cartilage growth plate plays a fundamental role in endochondral ossification. We have shown that, in an avian in vitro system for chondrocyte differentiation, VEGF was produced and localized in cell clusters totally resembling in vivo cartilage. The factor was synthesized by hypertrophic chondrocytes and was released into their conditioned medium, which is highly chemotactic for endothelial cells. Antibodies against VEGF inhibited endothelial cell migration induced by chondrocyte conditioned media. Similarly, endothelial cell migration was inhibited also by antibodies directed against the VEGF receptor 2/Flk1 (VEGFR2). In avian and mammalian embryo long bones, immediately before vascular invasion, VEGF was distinctly localized in growth plate hypertrophic chondrocytes. In contrast, VEGF was not observed in quiescent and proliferating chondrocytes earlier in development. VEGF receptor 2 colocalized with the factor both in hypertrophic cartilage in vivo and hypertrophic cartilage engineered in vitro, suggesting an autocrine loop in chondrocytes at the time of their maturation to hypertrophic cells and of cartilage erosion. Regardless of cell exposure to exogenous VEGF, VEGFR-2 phosphorylation was recognized in cultured hypertrophic chondrocytes, supporting the idea of an autocrine functional activation of signal transduction in this non-endothelial cell type as a consequence of the endogenous VEGF production. In summary we propose that VEGF is actively responsible for hypertrophic cartilage neovascularization through a paracrine release by chondrocytes, with invading endothelial cells as a target. Furthermore, VEGF receptor localization and signal transduction in chondrocytes strongly support the hypothesis of a VEGF autocrine activity also in morphogenesis and differentiation of a mesoderm derived cell.

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 115 (20) ◽  
pp. 4130-4137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinmin Gao ◽  
Lei Sun ◽  
Lihong Huo ◽  
Min Liu ◽  
Dengwen Li ◽  
...  

Cylindromatosis (CYLD) is a deubiquitinase that was initially identified as a tumor suppressor and has recently been implicated in diverse normal physiologic processes. In this study, we have investigated the involvement of CYLD in angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from preexisting ones. We find that knockdown of CYLD expression significantly impairs angiogenesis in vitro in both matrigel-based tube formation assay and collagen-based 3-dimensional capillary sprouting assay. Disruption of CYLD also remarkably inhibits angiogenic response in vivo, as evidenced by diminished blood vessel growth into the angioreactors implanted in mice. Mechanistic studies show that CYLD regulates angiogenesis by mediating the spreading and migration of vascular endothelial cells. Silencing of CYLD dramatically decreases microtubule dynamics in endothelial cells and inhibits endothelial cell migration by blocking the polarization process. Furthermore, we identify Rac1 activation as an important factor contributing to the action of CYLD in regulating endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis. Our findings thus uncover a previously unrecognized role for CYLD in the angiogenic process and provide a novel mechanism for Rac1 activation during endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis.


Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 349
Author(s):  
Devandir A. de Souza Junior ◽  
Carolina Santana ◽  
Gabriel V. Vieira ◽  
Constance Oliver ◽  
Maria Celia Jamur

Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that during angiogenesis in vitro, rmMCP-7 (recombinant mouse mast cell protease-7) stimulates endothelial cell spreading and induces their penetration into the matrix. The ability of rmMCP-7 to induce angiogenesis in vivo was assessed in the present study using a directed in vivo angiogenesis assay (DIVAA™). Vessel invasion of the angioreactor was observed in the presence of rmMCP-7 but was not seen in the control. Since integrins are involved in endothelial cell migration, the relationship between rmMCP-7 and integrins during angiogenesis was investigated. Incubation with rmMCP-7 resulted in a reduction in the levels of integrin subunits αv and β1 on SVEC4-10 endothelial cells during angiogenesis in vitro. Furthermore, the degradation of integrin subunits occurs both through the direct action of rmMCP-7 and indirectly via the ubiquitin/proteasome system. Even in the presence of a proteasome inhibitor, incubation of endothelial cells with rmMCP-7 induced cell migration and tube formation as well as the beginning of loop formation. These data indicate that the direct degradation of the integrin subunits by rmMCP-7 is sufficient to initiate angiogenesis. The results demonstrate, for the first time, that mMCP-7 acts in angiogenesis through integrin degradation.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
Erica Russo ◽  
Peter Runge ◽  
Neda Haghayegh Jahromi ◽  
Heidi Naboth ◽  
Angela Landtwing ◽  
...  

Junctional adhesion proteins play important roles in controlling angiogenesis, vascular permeability and leukocyte trafficking. CD112 (nectin-2) belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily and was shown to engage in homophilic and heterophilic interactions with a variety of binding partners expressed on endothelial cells and on leukocytes. Recent in vitro studies suggested that CD112 regulates human endothelial cell migration and proliferation as well as transendothelial migration of leukocytes. However, so far, the role of CD112 in endothelial cell biology and in leukocyte trafficking has not been elucidated in vivo. We found CD112 to be expressed by lymphatic and blood endothelial cells in different murine tissues. In CD112-deficient mice, the blood vessel coverage in the retina and spleen was significantly enhanced. In functional in vitro studies, a blockade of CD112 modulated endothelial cell migration and significantly enhanced endothelial tube formation. An antibody-based blockade of CD112 also significantly reduced T cell transmigration across endothelial monolayers in vitro. Moreover, T cell homing to the spleen was significantly reduced in CD112-deficient mice. Overall, our results identify CD112 as a regulator of angiogenic processes in vivo and demonstrate a novel role for CD112 in T cell entry into the spleen.


2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (3) ◽  
pp. C557-C566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nitza Lahat ◽  
Haim Bitterman ◽  
Miri Engelmayer-Goren ◽  
Doron Rosenzweig ◽  
Lea Weiss-Cerem ◽  
...  

Hypoxia, which characterizes ischemia, trauma, inflammation, and solid tumors, recruits monocytes, immobilizes them, and alters their function, leading to an anti-inflammatory and proangiogenic phenotype. Monocyte extravasation from the circulation and their migration in tissues are partially mediated by the balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs). The mechanisms evoked by hypoxia that regulate monocyte migration and activation are not entirely clear. Specifically, the effect of hypoxia on TIMPs in these cells has hardly been investigated. We show that hypoxia reduces TIMP-2 secretion from human primary monocytes and from the monocyte-like cell lines U937 and THP-1 by three- to fourfold ( P < 0.01), by inhibiting TIMP-2 transcription through mechanisms that involve the transcription factor SP-1. Hypoxia also lowers TIMP-2 protein secretion from human endothelial cells (by 2-fold, P < 0.05). TIMP-2 levels do not influence the reduced migration of THP-1 cells in hypoxia; however, low TIMP-2 levels enhance endothelial cell migration/proliferation, their ability to form tubelike structures in vitro, and the appearance of mature blood vessels in a Matrigel plug assay in vivo. Thus we conclude that reduced TIMP-2 levels secreted from both hypoxic monocytes and endothelial cells are proangiogenic.


Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (24) ◽  
pp. 5423-5433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baofeng Zhao ◽  
Changzoon Chun ◽  
Zhong Liu ◽  
Mark A. Horswill ◽  
Kallal Pramanik ◽  
...  

Abstract Our previous work has shown that axon guidance gene family Nogo-B and its receptor (NgBR) are essential for chemotaxis and morphogenesis of endothelial cells in vitro. To investigate NogoB-NgBR function in vivo, we cloned the zebrafish ortholog of both genes and studied loss of function in vivo using morpholino antisense technology. Zebrafish ortholog of Nogo-B is expressed in somite while expression of zebrafish NgBR is localized in intersomitic vessel (ISV) and axial dorsal aorta during embryonic development. NgBR or Nogo-B knockdown embryos show defects in ISV sprouting in the zebrafish trunk. Mechanistically, we found that NgBR knockdown not only abolished its ligand Nogo-B–stimulated endothelial cell migration but also reduced the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)–stimulated phosphorylation of Akt and vascular endothelial growth factor–induced chemotaxis and morphogenesis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Further, constitutively activated Akt (myristoylated [myr]Akt) or human NgBR can rescue the NgBR knockdown umbilical vein endothelial cell migration defects in vitro or NgBR morpholino-caused ISV defects in vivo. These data place Akt at the downstream of NgBR in both Nogo-B– and VEGF-coordinated sprouting of ISVs. In summary, this study identifies the in vivo functional role for Nogo-B and its receptor (NgBR) in angiogenesis in zebrafish.


1993 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 673-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
MS Pepper ◽  
AP Sappino ◽  
R Stöcklin ◽  
R Montesano ◽  
L Orci ◽  
...  

One of the phenotypic hallmarks of migrating endothelial cells, both in vivo and in vitro, is expression of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA), a key mediator of extracellular proteolysis. In the study reported here, we have used an in vitro model of endothelial cell migration to explore the mechanism of this phenomenon. We have found that wounding of an endothelial cell monolayer triggers a marked, rapid and sustained increase in expression of a specific high-affinity receptor for u-PA (u-PAr) on the surface of migrating cells. Migrating cells displayed an increase in the levels of u-PA and u-PAr mRNAs, and this increase was mediated by endogenous basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). We also show that the increase in u-PA activity on migrating cells can be accounted for by an increase in receptor-bound u-PA, and that the increase in activity is also dependent on endogenous bFGF. These results demonstrate that the expression of plasmin-mediated proteolytic activity by migrating endothelial cells is a consequence of increased production of both u-PA and its receptor, and that this in turn is mediated by endogenous bFGF. This suggests that u-PA, produced at increased levels by migrating cells, binds to u-PAr whose expression is upregulated on the same cells. These observations are in accord with the postulated role of u-PAr in mediating efficient and spatially restricted extracellular proteolysis, particularly in the context of cell migration.


2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (6) ◽  
pp. C1402-C1408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leeann M. Bellamy ◽  
Adam P. W. Johnston ◽  
Michael De Lisio ◽  
Gianni Parise

The role of angiotensin II (ANG II) in postnatal vasculogenesis and angiogenesis during skeletal muscle (SKM) regeneration is unknown. We examined the capacity of ANG II to stimulate capillary formation and growth during cardiotoxin-induced muscle regeneration in ACE inhibitor-treated ANG II type 1a receptor knockout (AT1a−/−) and C57Bl/6 control mice. Analysis of tibialis anterior (TA) cross-sections revealed 17% and 23% reductions in capillarization in AT1a−/− and captopril treated mice, respectively, when compared with controls, 21 days postinjury. Conversely, no differences in capillarization were detected at early time points (7 and 10 days). These results identify ANG II as a regulator of angiogenesis but not vasculogenesis in vivo. In vitro angiogenesis assays of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) further confirmed ANG II as proangiogeneic as 71% and 124% increases in tube length and branch point number were observed following ANG II treatment. Importantly, treatment of HUVECs with conditioned media from differentiated muscle cells resulted in an 84% and 203% increase in tube length and branch point number compared with controls, which was abolished following pretreatment of the cells with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. The pro-angiogenic effect of ANG II can be attributed to an enhanced endothelial cell migration because both transwell and under agarose migration assays revealed a 37% and 101% increase in cell motility, respectively. Collectively, these data highlight ANG II as a proangiogenic regulator during SKM regeneration in vivo and more importantly demonstrates that ANG II released from SKM can signal endothelial cells and regulate angiogenesis through the induction of endothelial cell migration.


2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (03) ◽  
pp. 576-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Provençal ◽  
Marisol Michaud ◽  
Édith Beaulieu ◽  
David Ratel ◽  
Georges-Étienne Rivard ◽  
...  

SummaryTissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is a plasma Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor that is mainly known for its inhibition of tissue factor-mediated coagulation. In addition to its anticoagulant properties, emerging data show that TFPI may also regulate endothelial cell functions via a non-haemostatic pathway. In this work we demonstrate that at concentrations within the physiological range,TFPI inhibits both endothelial cell migration and their differentiation into capillary-like structures in vitro. These effects were specific to endothelial cells since no inhibitory effect was observed on the migration of tumor (glio- blastoma) cells. Inhibition of endothelial cell migration was correlated with a concomitant loss in cell adhesion,suggesting an alteration of focal adhesion complex integrity. Accordingly,we observed thatTFPI inhibited the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and paxillin,two key proteins involved in the scaffolding of these complexes, and that this effect was specific to endothelial cells. These results suggest that TFPI influences the angiogenic process via a non-haemostatic pathway, by downregulating the migratory mechanisms of endothelial cells.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document