scholarly journals Exosomes in Angiogenesis and Anti-angiogenic Therapy in Cancers

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (16) ◽  
pp. 5840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wioletta Olejarz ◽  
Grażyna Kubiak-Tomaszewska ◽  
Alicja Chrzanowska ◽  
Tomasz Lorenc

Angiogenesis is the process through which new blood vessels are formed from pre-existing ones. Exosomes are involved in angiogenesis in cancer progression by transporting numerous pro-angiogenic biomolecules like vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and microRNAs. Exosomes promote angiogenesis by suppressing expression of factor-inhibiting hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1). Uptake of tumor-derived exosomes (TEX) by normal endothelial cells activates angiogenic signaling pathways in endothelial cells and stimulates new vessel formation. TEX-driven cross-talk of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with immune cells blocks their anti-tumor activity. Effective inhibition of tumor angiogenesis may arrest tumor progression. Bevacizumab, a VEGF-specific antibody, was the first antiangiogenic agent to enter the clinic. The most important clinical problem associated with cancer therapy using VEGF- or VEFGR-targeting agents is drug resistance. Combined strategies based on angiogenesis inhibitors and immunotherapy effectively enhances therapies in various cancers, but effective treatment requires further research.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lungwani Muungo

Tumor hypoxia and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) activationare associated with cancer progression. Here, we demonstrate thatthe transcription factor TAp73 opposes HIF-1 activity through anontranscriptional mechanism, thus affecting tumor angiogenesis.TAp73-deficient mice have an increased incidence of spontaneousand chemically induced tumors that also display enhanced vascularization.Mechanistically, TAp73 interacts with the regulatory subunit(α) of HIF-1 and recruits mouse double minute 2 homolog intothe protein complex, thus promoting HIF-1α polyubiquitination andconsequent proteasomal degradation in an oxygen-independentmanner. In human lung cancer datasets, TAp73 strongly predictsgood patient prognosis, and its expression is associated with lowHIF-1 activation and angiogenesis. Our findings, supported by invivo and clinical evidence, demonstrate a mechanism for oxygenindependentHIF-1 regulation, which has important implicationsfor individualizing therapies in patients with cancer.


2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (21) ◽  
pp. 5828-5842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lluis Martorell ◽  
Maurizio Gentile ◽  
Jordi Rius ◽  
Cristina Rodríguez ◽  
Javier Crespo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Hypoxia induces apoptosis but also triggers adaptive mechanisms to ensure cell survival. Here we show that the prosurvival effects of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) in endothelial cells are mediated by neuron-derived orphan receptor 1 (NOR-1). The overexpression of NOR-1 decreased the rate of endothelial cells undergoing apoptosis in cultures exposed to hypoxia, while the inhibition of NOR-1 increased cell apoptosis. Hypoxia upregulated NOR-1 mRNA levels in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Blocking antibodies against VEGF or SU5614 (a VEGF receptor 2 inhibitor) did not prevent hypoxia-induced NOR-1 expression, suggesting that NOR-1 is not induced by the autocrine secretion of VEGF in response to hypoxia. The reduction of HIF-1α protein levels by small interfering RNAs, or by inhibitors of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway or mTOR, significantly counteracted hypoxia-induced NOR-1 upregulation. Intracellular Ca2+ was involved in hypoxia-induced PI3K/Akt activation and in the downstream NOR-1 upregulation. A hypoxia response element mediated the transcriptional activation of NOR-1 induced by hypoxia as we show by transient transfection and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Finally, the attenuation of NOR-1 expression reduced both basal and hypoxia-induced cIAP2 (cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein 2) mRNA levels, while NOR-1 overexpression upregulated cIAP2. Therefore, NOR-1 is a downstream effector of HIF-1 signaling involved in the survival response of endothelial cells to hypoxia.


Pharmacology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Man-Ping Huang ◽  
Shan-Zhi Gu ◽  
Bin Huang ◽  
Guo-Wen Li ◽  
Zheng-Ping Xiong ◽  
...  

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), which is difficult to diagnose and is usually fatal due to its late clinical presentation and a lack of effective treatment, has risen over the past decades but without much improvement in prognosis. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The study aimed to investigate the role of apatinib that targets vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR2) in ICC. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> MTT assays, cell scratch assays, and tube formation assays were used to assess the effect of apatinib on human ICC cell line (HuCCT-1) and RBE cells proliferation, migration, and angiogenic capacity, respectively. Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGFR2, signal transducer and activator of transcription factor 3 (STAT3), pSTAT3, and hypoxia inducible factor 1 subunit alpha (HIF-1α) pathway proteins was assessed using Western blotting and mRNA expression analysis in HuCCT-1 was performed using RT-qPCR assays. The pcDNA 3.1(-)-VEGFR2 and pcDNA 3.1(-)-HIF-1α were transfected into HuCCT-1 and RBE cells using Lipofectamine 2,000 to obtain overexpressed HuCCT-1 and RBE cells. <b><i>Results:</i></b> We found that apatinib-inhibited proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis of HuCCT-1 and RBE cells in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. We also proved that apatinib effectively inhibits angiogenesis in tumor cells by blocking the expression of VEGF and VEGFR2 in these cells. In addition, we demonstrated that apatinib regulates the expression of STAT3 phosphorylation by inhibiting VEGFR2. Finally, we showed that apatinib regulates ICC angiogenesis and HIF-1α/VEGF expression via STAT3. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Based on the above findings, we conclude that apatinib inhibits HuCCT-1 and RBE cell proliferation, migration, and tumor angiogenesis by inhibiting the VEGFR2/STAT3/HIF-1α axis signaling pathway. Apatinib can be a promising drug for ICC-targeted molecular therapy.


Blood ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideo Kimura ◽  
Alessandro Weisz ◽  
Yukiko Kurashima ◽  
Kouichi Hashimoto ◽  
Tsutomu Ogura ◽  
...  

Abstract Nitric oxide (NO) regulates production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by normal and transformed cells. We demonstrate that NO donors may up-regulate the activity of the human VEGF promoter in normoxic human glioblastoma and hepatoma cells independent of a cyclic guanosine monophosphate–mediated pathway. Deletion and mutation analysis of the VEGF promoter indicates that the NO-responsive cis-elements are the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) binding site and an adjacent ancillary sequence that is located immediately downstream within the hypoxia-response element (HRE). This work demonstrates that the HRE of this promoter is the primary target of NO. In addition, VEGF gene regulation by NO, as well as by hypoxia, is potentiated by the AP-1 element of the gene. Our study also reveals that NO and hypoxia induce an increase in HIF-1 binding activity and HIF-1 protein levels, both in the nucleus and the whole cell. These results suggest that there are common features of the NO and hypoxic pathways of VEGF induction, while in part, NO mediates gene transcription by a mechanism distinct from hypoxia. This is demonstrated by a difference in sensitivity to guanylate cyclase inhibitors and a different pattern of HIF-1 binding. These results show that there is a primary role for NO in the control of VEGF synthesis and in cell adaptations to hypoxia. (Blood. 2000;95:189-197)


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