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Babaei Z, Panjehpour M, Parsian H, Aghaei M. SAR131675 exhibits anticancer activity on human ovarian cancer cells through inhibition of VEGFR-3/ERK1/2/AKT signaling pathway. Cell Signal 2023; 111:110856. [PMID: 37598918 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2023.110856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) is known to participate in tumorigenesis and lymphangiogenesis, and as such, has the potential to serve as a molecular target for cancer therapy. SAR131675 is a highly selective VEGFR-3 antagonist that has an inhibitive effect on lymphatic cell growth. However, the anticancer effects and underlying mechanisms of SAR131675 in ovarian cancer remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the pathological role of VEGFR-3, and the effects of SAR131675 on proliferation, cell cycle, migration, and apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. Our results showed that the mRNA and protein of VEGFR-3 were expressed in OVCAR3 and SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells, and this receptor was activated following stimulation with 50 ng/ml VEGF-C Cys156Ser (VEGF-CS), a selective ligand for VEGFR-3. Enhancing VEGFR-3 phosphorylation by treatment of ovarian cancer cells with VEGF-CS resulted in increased levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) and AKT. Moreover, our data demonstrated that SAR131675 inhibited VEGF-CS-mediated proliferation, colony formation, and migration of cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, inhibition of VEGFR-3 activation with SAR131675 significantly increased cell cycle arrest and promoted apoptosis in both OVCAR3 and SKOV3 cells. Mechanistically, SAR131675 effectively suppressed the VEGF-CS-induced phosphorylation of VEGFR-3 and its downstream effectors including activated ERK1/2 and AKT in ovarian cancer cells. Our results reveal an anticancer activity of SAR131675 on the growth and migration of ovarian cancer cells, which may be through inhibiting VEGFR-3/ERK1/2/AKT pathway. SAR131675 may serve as an effective targeted drug for ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeinab Babaei
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran; Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
| | - Mojtaba Panjehpour
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Hadi Parsian
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
| | - Mahmoud Aghaei
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
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Torres-Ruiz S, Tormo E, Garrido-Cano I, Lameirinhas A, Rojo F, Madoz-Gúrpide J, Burgués O, Hernando C, Bermejo B, Martínez MT, Lluch A, Cejalvo JM, Eroles P. High VEGFR3 Expression Reduces Doxorubicin Efficacy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24043601. [PMID: 36835014 PMCID: PMC9966352 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to the lack of specific targets, cytotoxic chemotherapy still represents the common standard treatment for triple-negative breast patients. Despite the harmful effect of chemotherapy on tumor cells, there is evidence that treatment could modulate the tumor microenvironment in a way favoring the propagation of the tumor. In addition, the lymphangiogenesis process and its factors could be involved in this counter-therapeutic event. In our study, we have evaluated the expression of the main lymphangiogenic receptor VEGFR3 in two triple-negative breast cancer in vitro models, resistant or not to doxorubicin treatment. The expression of the receptor, at mRNA and protein levels, was higher in doxorubicin-resistant cells than in parental cells. In addition, we confirmed the upregulation of VEGFR3 levels after a short treatment with doxorubicin. Furthermore, VEGFR3 silencing reduced cell proliferation and migration capacities in both cell lines. Interestingly, high VEGFR3 expression was significantly positively correlated with worse survival in patients treated with chemotherapy. Furthermore, we have found that patients with high expression of VEGFR3 present shorter relapse-free survival than patients with low levels of the receptor. In conclusion, elevated VEGFR3 levels correlate with poor survival in patients and with reduced doxorubicin treatment efficacy in vitro. Our results suggest that the levels of this receptor could be a potential marker of meager doxorubicin response. Consequently, our results suggest that the combination of chemotherapy and VEGFR3 blockage could be a potentially useful therapeutic strategy for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eduardo Tormo
- Biomedical Research Institute INCLIVA, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Cancer (CIBERONC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Ana Lameirinhas
- Biomedical Research Institute INCLIVA, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Federico Rojo
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Cancer (CIBERONC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Pathology, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Madoz-Gúrpide
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Cancer (CIBERONC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Pathology, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Octavio Burgués
- Biomedical Research Institute INCLIVA, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Cancer (CIBERONC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Pathology, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Cristina Hernando
- Biomedical Research Institute INCLIVA, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Begoña Bermejo
- Biomedical Research Institute INCLIVA, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Cancer (CIBERONC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - María Teresa Martínez
- Biomedical Research Institute INCLIVA, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Ana Lluch
- Biomedical Research Institute INCLIVA, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Cancer (CIBERONC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Universidad de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Juan Miguel Cejalvo
- Biomedical Research Institute INCLIVA, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Cancer (CIBERONC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Pilar Eroles
- Biomedical Research Institute INCLIVA, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Center for Biomedical Network Research on Cancer (CIBERONC), 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Physiology, Universidad de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Department of Biotechnology, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, 46022 Valencia, Spain
- Correspondence:
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He H, Zhang S, Yang H, Xu P, Kutschick I, Pfeffer S, Britzen-Laurent N, Grützmann R, Fu D, Pilarsky C. Identification of Genes Associated with Liver Metastasis in Pancreatic Cancer Reveals PCSK6 as a Crucial Mediator. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 15:cancers15010241. [PMID: 36612240 PMCID: PMC9818395 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15010241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Liver metastasis occurs frequently in patients with pancreatic cancer. We analyzed the molecular profiling in liver metastatic lesions aiming to uncover novel genes responsible for tumor progression. Bioinformatics analysis was applied to identify genes directing liver metastasis. CRISPR/Cas9 technology was used to knock out the candidate gene. Proliferation assays, colony formation assays, cell cycle analysis, migration assays, wound healing assays, Immunofluorescence analysis, and the tumor xenograft model of intrasplenic injection were adopted to evaluate the effects of PCSK6 inactivation on cell growth, migration and liver metastasis. GSEA and Western blot were used to investigate the corresponding signaling pathway. PCSK6 was one of the obtained liver-metastasis-related genes in pancreatic cancer. PCSK6 inactivation inhibited cell growth and cell migration, due to G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and the remodeling of cell-cell junctions or the cell skeleton, respectively. PCSK6 inactivation led to fewer counts and lower outgrowth rates of liver metastatic niches in vivo. The Raf-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 axis was repressed by PCSK6 inactivation. Accordingly, we found PCSK6 inactivation could inhibit cell growth, cell migration, and liver metastasis, and explored the role of the Raf-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 axis in PCSK6 inactivation. PCSK6-targeted therapy might represent a novel approach for combatting liver metastasis in pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang He
- Department of Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Department of Pancreatic Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China
| | - Shuman Zhang
- Department of Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Hai Yang
- Department of Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Pengyan Xu
- Department of Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Isabella Kutschick
- Department of Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Susanne Pfeffer
- Department of Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Nathalie Britzen-Laurent
- Department of Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Robert Grützmann
- Department of Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Deliang Fu
- Department of Pancreatic Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China
| | - Christian Pilarsky
- Department of Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Correspondence:
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