Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels, contributes significantly to cancer progression and metastasis, as the """"""""angiogenic switch"""""""" represents a fundamental step in the progression of a solid tumor to a faster growing and more malignant state. Unlike normal vessels, tumor-associated blood vessels are notoriously leaky and tortuous, contributing to their poor function. Accordingly, recent attempts to normalize tumor blood vessels have proven successful as a means for improved delivery of anti-cancer agents. We hypothesize, that by normalizing the tumor vasculature, it should be possible to reduce tumor cell metastasis by limiting tumor intravasation. During tumor angiogenesis, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and other angiogenic growth factors stimulate endothelial cells to sprout and form new vessels. Simultaneously, vascular smooth muscle cells stimulated by platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) and its receptor PDGFR2 are recruited to tumor associated vascular sprouts facilitating vessel maturation. We have recently made the observation that the presence of VEGF can block PDGF-dependent regulation of neovascularization and vessel normalization. Thus, by blocking VEGF or the VEGF receptor 2 we can induce increase tumor vessel maturation. It is our hypothesis that VEGF, through its capacity to negatively regulate PDGFR2 function on pericytes, not only has a profound influence on neovascularization and growth of primary tumors, but also significantly impacts tumor cell intravasation, an initial step in the metastatic cascade. A major goal of our proposed studies will be to characterize the composition of the PDGFR2/VEGFR2 complex on tumor vessel associated pericytes and investigate how it regulates the cell migration and proliferation in vitro (Aim 1). We will carefully examine the mechanism by which VEGF suppresses PDGF function impacting blood vessel integrity and pericyte coverage in real time during angiogenesis in mice (Aim 2). Finally, we will determine how differential expression of VEGF/PDGF by tumor cells determines vascular maturation and angiogenesis, and assess how regulation of VEGF expression impacts the progression and metastatic properties of orthotopic and spontaneous pancreatic cancer in mice (Aim 3). Based on these studies we propose a novel therapeutic strategy to control tumor progression and metastasis.

Public Health Relevance

Angiogenesis is the process by which new blood vessels are formed by sprouting from the existing vasculature. We have identified a surprising balance between pro-angiogenic factors which results in the blockade of angiogenesis. A thorough understanding of this system is required for the design of new therapies to manipulate the angiogenic response in order to limit tumor growth, facilitate efficient drug delivery, and ultimately improve outcome for patients suffering from metastatic disease.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award (R37)
Project #
5R37CA050286-25
Application #
8449750
Study Section
Tumor Progression and Metastasis Study Section (TPM)
Program Officer
Sathyamoorthy, Neeraja
Project Start
1989-08-01
Project End
2014-04-30
Budget Start
2013-05-01
Budget End
2014-04-30
Support Year
25
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$430,440
Indirect Cost
$151,838
Name
University of California San Diego
Department
Pathology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
804355790
City
La Jolla
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92093
Wang, Huawei; Lapek, John; Fujimura, Ken et al. (2018) Pseudopodium-enriched atypical kinase 1 mediates angiogenesis by modulating GATA2-dependent VEGFR2 transcription. Cell Discov 4:26
Desgrosellier, Jay S; Lesperance, Jacqueline; Seguin, Laetitia et al. (2014) Integrin ?v?3 drives slug activation and stemness in the pregnant and neoplastic mammary gland. Dev Cell 30:295-308
Seguin, Laetitia; Kato, Shumei; Franovic, Aleksandra et al. (2014) An integrin ??-KRAS-RalB complex drives tumour stemness and resistance to EGFR inhibition. Nat Cell Biol 16:457-68
Jean, Christine; Chen, Xiao Lei; Nam, Ju-Ock et al. (2014) Inhibition of endothelial FAK activity prevents tumor metastasis by enhancing barrier function. J Cell Biol 204:247-63
Westenskow, Peter D; Kurihara, Toshihide; Aguilar, Edith et al. (2013) Ras pathway inhibition prevents neovascularization by repressing endothelial cell sprouting. J Clin Invest 123:4900-8
Scheppke, Lea; Murphy, Eric A; Zarpellon, Alessandro et al. (2012) Notch promotes vascular maturation by inducing integrin-mediated smooth muscle cell adhesion to the endothelial basement membrane. Blood 119:2149-58
Weis, Sara M; Cheresh, David A (2011) ?V integrins in angiogenesis and cancer. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 1:a006478
Weis, Sara M; Cheresh, David A (2011) Tumor angiogenesis: molecular pathways and therapeutic targets. Nat Med 17:1359-70
Mielgo, Ainhoa; Seguin, Laetitia; Huang, Miller et al. (2011) A MEK-independent role for CRAF in mitosis and tumor progression. Nat Med 17:1641-5
Anand, Sudarshan; Cheresh, David A (2011) MicroRNA-mediated regulation of the angiogenic switch. Curr Opin Hematol 18:171-6

Showing the most recent 10 out of 84 publications