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Zhang L, Kundu S, Feenstra T, Li X, Jin C, Laaniste L, El Hassan TEA, Ohlin KE, Yu D, Olofsson T, Olsson AK, Pontén F, Magnusson PU, Nilsson KF, Essand M, Smits A, Dieterich LC, Dimberg A. Pleiotrophin promotes vascular abnormalization in gliomas and correlates with poor survival in patients with astrocytomas. Sci Signal 2015; 8:ra125. [PMID: 26645582 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aaa1690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Glioblastomas are aggressive astrocytomas characterized by endothelial cell proliferation and abnormal vasculature, which can cause brain edema and increase patient morbidity. We identified the heparin-binding cytokine pleiotrophin as a driver of vascular abnormalization in glioma. Pleiotrophin abundance was greater in high-grade human astrocytomas and correlated with poor survival. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), which is a receptor that is activated by pleiotrophin, was present in mural cells associated with abnormal vessels. Orthotopically implanted gliomas formed from GL261 cells that were engineered to produce pleiotrophin showed increased microvessel density and enhanced tumor growth compared with gliomas formed from control GL261 cells. The survival of mice with pleiotrophin-producing gliomas was shorter than that of mice with gliomas that did not produce pleiotrophin. Vessels in pleiotrophin-producing gliomas were poorly perfused and abnormal, a phenotype that was associated with increased deposition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in direct proximity to the vasculature. The growth of pleiotrophin-producing GL261 gliomas was inhibited by treatment with the ALK inhibitor crizotinib, the ALK inhibitor ceritinib, or the VEGF receptor inhibitor cediranib, whereas control GL261 tumors did not respond to either inhibitor. Our findings link pleiotrophin abundance in gliomas with survival in humans and mice, and show that pleiotrophin promotes glioma progression through increased VEGF deposition and vascular abnormalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zhang
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Soumi Kundu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tjerk Feenstra
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Xiujuan Li
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Chuan Jin
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Liisi Laaniste
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - K Elisabet Ohlin
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Di Yu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tommie Olofsson
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna-Karin Olsson
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Biomedical Center, Box 582, SE-75123 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Pontén
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Peetra U Magnusson
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Karin Forsberg Nilsson
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Magnus Essand
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anja Smits
- Department of Neuroscience, Neurology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lothar C Dieterich
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna Dimberg
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, The Rudbeck Laboratory, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden.
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Atif F, Yousuf S, Stein DG. Anti-tumor effects of progesterone in human glioblastoma multiforme: role of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2015; 146:62-73. [PMID: 24787660 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2014.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2014] [Revised: 04/16/2014] [Accepted: 04/20/2014] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive primary brain tumor with a mean patient survival of 13-15 months despite surgical resection, radiation therapy and standard-of-care chemotherapy. We investigated the chemotherapeutic effects of the hormone progesterone (P4) on the growth of human GBM in four genetically different cell lines (U87MG, U87dEGFR, U118MG, LN-229) in vitro and in a U87MG subcutaneous xenograft mouse model. At high concentrations (20, 40, and 80 μM), P4 significantly (P<0.05) decreased tumor cell viability in all cell lines except LN-229. This effect was not blocked by the P4 receptor antagonist RU468. Conversely, at low physiological concentrations (0.1, 1, and 5 μM) P4 showed a proliferative effect in all cell lines which was blocked by RU486. In nude mice, P4 (100 and 200 mg/kg) inhibited tumor growth significantly (P<0.05) over 5 weeks of treatment and extended survival time of tumor-bearing mice by 60% without signs of systemic toxicity. P4 suppressed tumor vascularization as indicated by the expression of CD31, vascular endothelial growth factor and matrix metalloproteinase-9. Apoptosis in tumor tissue was detected by the expression of cleaved caspase-3, BCl-2, BAD and p53 proteins and confirmed by TUNEL assay. P4 treatment also suppressed PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling, which regulates tumor growth, as demonstrated by the suppression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Our data can be interpreted to suggest that P4 suppresses the growth of human GBM cells both in vitro and in vivo and enhances survival time in mice without any demonstrable side effects. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Sex steroids and brain disorders'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fahim Atif
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Brain Research Laboratory, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
| | - Seema Yousuf
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Brain Research Laboratory, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Donald G Stein
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Brain Research Laboratory, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
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Martínez-González A, Calvo GF, Pérez Romasanta LA, Pérez-García VM. Hypoxic cell waves around necrotic cores in glioblastoma: a biomathematical model and its therapeutic implications. Bull Math Biol 2012; 74:2875-96. [PMID: 23151957 PMCID: PMC3510407 DOI: 10.1007/s11538-012-9786-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2011] [Accepted: 10/18/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Glioblastoma is a rapidly evolving high-grade astrocytoma that is distinguished pathologically from lower grade gliomas by the presence of necrosis and microvascular hyperplasia. Necrotic areas are typically surrounded by hypercellular regions known as "pseudopalisades" originated by local tumor vessel occlusions that induce collective cellular migration events. This leads to the formation of waves of tumor cells actively migrating away from central hypoxia. We present a mathematical model that incorporates the interplay among two tumor cell phenotypes, a necrotic core and the oxygen distribution. Our simulations reveal the formation of a traveling wave of tumor cells that reproduces the observed histologic patterns of pseudopalisades. Additional simulations of the model equations show that preventing the collapse of tumor microvessels leads to slower glioma invasion, a fact that might be exploited for therapeutic purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Martínez-González
- Departamento de Matemáticas, E. T. S. I. Industriales and Instituto de Matemática Aplicada a la Ciencia y la Ingeniería, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Gabriel F. Calvo
- Departamento de Matemáticas, E. T. S. I. Caminos, Canales y Puertos and Instituto de Matemática Aplicada a la Ciencia y la Ingeniería, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Luis A. Pérez Romasanta
- Servicio de Oncología Radioterápica, Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
| | - Víctor M. Pérez-García
- Departamento de Matemáticas, E. T. S. I. Industriales and Instituto de Matemática Aplicada a la Ciencia y la Ingeniería, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
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Kia A, Przystal JM, Nianiaris N, Mazarakis ND, Mintz PJ, Hajitou A. Dual systemic tumor targeting with ligand-directed phage and Grp78 promoter induces tumor regression. Mol Cancer Ther 2012; 11:2566-77. [PMID: 23053496 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-12-0587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The tumor-specific Grp78 promoter is overexpressed in aggressive tumors. Cancer patients would benefit greatly from application of this promoter in gene therapy and molecular imaging; however, clinical benefit is limited by lack of strategies to target the systemic delivery of Grp78-driven transgenes to tumors. This study aims to assess the systemic efficacy of Grp78-guided expression of therapeutic and imaging transgenes relative to the standard cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter. Combination of ligand and Grp78 transcriptional targeting into a single vector would facilitate systemic applications of the Grp78 promoter. We generated a dual tumor-targeted phage containing the arginine-glycine-aspartic acid tumor homing ligand and Grp78 promoter. Next, we combined flow cytometry, Western blot analysis, bioluminescence imaging of luciferase, and HSVtk/ganciclovir gene therapy and compared efficacy to conventional phage carrying the CMV promoter in vitro and in vivo in subcutaneous models of rat and human glioblastoma. We show that double-targeted phage provides persistent transgene expression in vitro and in tumors in vivo after systemic administration compared with conventional phage. Next, we showed significant tumor killing in vivo using the HSVtk/ganciclovir gene therapy and found a systemic antitumor effect of Grp78-driven HSVtk against therapy-resistant tumors. Finally, we uncovered a novel mechanism of Grp78 promoter activation whereby HSVtk/ganciclovir therapy upregulates Grp78 and transgene expression via the conserved unfolded protein response signaling cascade. These data validate the potential of Grp78 promoter in systemic cancer gene therapy and report the efficacy of a dual tumor targeting phage that may prove useful for translation into gene therapy and molecular imaging applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azadeh Kia
- Centre for Neuroinflammation and Degeneration, Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, United Kingdom
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Mikelis C, Lamprou M, Koutsioumpa M, Koutsioubas AG, Spyranti Z, Zompra AA, Spiliopoulos N, Vradis AA, Katsoris P, Spyroulias GA, Cordopatis P, Courty J, Papadimitriou E. A peptide corresponding to the C-terminal region of pleiotrophin inhibits angiogenesis in vivo and in vitro. J Cell Biochem 2011; 112:1532-43. [PMID: 21344482 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.23066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Pleiotrophin (PTN) is a heparin-binding growth factor that plays a significant role in tumor growth and angiogenesis. We have previously shown that in order for PTN to induce migration of endothelial cells, binding to both α(ν) β(3) integrin and its receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase beta/zeta (RPTPβ/ζ) is required. In the present study we show that a synthetic peptide corresponding to the last 25 amino acids of the C-terminal region of PTN (PTN(112-136) ) inhibited angiogenesis in the in vivo chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay and PTN-induced migration and tube formation of human endothelial cells in vitro. PTN(112-136) inhibited binding of PTN to α(ν) β(3) integrin, and as shown by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) measurements, specifically interacted with the specificity loop of the extracellular domain of β(3) . Moreover, it abolished PTN-induced FAK Y397 phosphorylation, similarly to the effect of a neutralizing α(ν) β(3) -selective antibody. PTN(112-136) did not affect binding of PTN to RPTPβ/ζ in endothelial cells and induced β(3) Y773 phosphorylation and ERK1/2 activation to a similar extent with PTN. This effect was inhibited by down-regulation of RPTPβ/ζ by siRNA or by c-src inhibition, suggesting that PTN(112-136) may interact with RPTPβ/ζ. NMR spectroscopy studies showed that PTN(112-136) was characterized by conformational flexibility and absence of any element of secondary structure at room temperature, although the biologically active peptide segment 123-132 may adopt a defined structure at lower temperature. Collectively, our data suggest that although PTN(112-136) induces some of the signaling pathways triggered by PTN, it inhibits PTN-induced angiogenic activities through inhibition of PTN binding to α(ν) β(3) integrin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constantinos Mikelis
- Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras, Patras 26504, Greece
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Hamma-Kourbali Y, Bermek O, Bernard-Pierrot I, Karaky R, Martel-Renoir D, Frechault S, Courty J, Delbé J. The synthetic peptide P111-136 derived from the C-terminal domain of heparin affin regulatory peptide inhibits tumour growth of prostate cancer PC-3 cells. BMC Cancer 2011; 11:212. [PMID: 21624116 PMCID: PMC3118947 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2407-11-212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2011] [Accepted: 05/30/2011] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Heparin affin regulatory peptide (HARP), also called pleiotrophin, is a heparin-binding, secreted factor that is overexpressed in several tumours and associated to tumour growth, angiogenesis and metastasis. The C-terminus part of HARP composed of amino acids 111 to 136 is particularly involved in its biological activities and we previously established that a synthetic peptide composed of the same amino acids (P111-136) was capable of inhibiting the biological activities of HARP. Here we evaluate the ability of P111-136 to inhibit in vitro and in vivo the growth of a human tumour cell line PC-3 which possess an HARP autocrine loop. Methods A total lysate of PC-3 cells was incubated with biotinylated P111-136 and pulled down for the presence of the HARP receptors in Western blot. In vitro, the P111-136 effect on HARP autocrine loop in PC-3 cells was determined by colony formation in soft agar. In vivo, PC-3 cells were inoculated in the flank of athymic nude mice. Animals were treated with P111-136 (5 mg/kg/day) for 25 days. Tumour volume was evaluated during the treatment. After the animal sacrifice, the tumour apoptosis and associated angiogenesis were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. In vivo anti-angiogenic effect was confirmed using a mouse Matrigel™ plug assay. Results Using pull down experiments, we identified the HARP receptors RPTPβ/ζ, ALK and nucleolin as P111-136 binding proteins. In vitro, P111-136 inhibits dose-dependently PC-3 cell colony formation. Treatment with P111-136 inhibits significantly the PC-3 tumour growth in the xenograft model as well as tumour angiogenesis. The angiostatic effect of P111-136 on HARP was also confirmed using an in vivo Matrigel™ plug assay in mice Conclusions Our results demonstrate that P111-136 strongly inhibits the mitogenic effect of HARP on in vitro and in vivo growth of PC-3 cells. This inhibition could be linked to a direct or indirect binding of this peptide to the HARP receptors (ALK, RPTPβ/ζ, nucleolin). In vivo, the P111-136 treatment significantly inhibits both the PC-3 tumour growth and the associated angiogenesis. Thus, P111-136 may be considered as an interesting pharmacological tool to interfere with tumour growth that has now to be evaluated in other cancer types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yamina Hamma-Kourbali
- Laboratoire de Recherche sur la Croissance Cellulaire, la Réparation et la Régénération Tissulaires, Université Paris Est Créteil, CNRS, avenue du Général de Gaulle, 94010 Créteil Cedex, France
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