Search

Pericytes promote vessel stability and their dysfunction causes pathologies due to blood vessel leakage. Previously, we reported that Olfactomedin-like 3 (Olfml3) is a matricellular protein with proangiogenic properties. Here, we explored the role of Olfml3 in a knockout mouse model engineered to suppress this protein. The mutant mice exhibited vascular defects in pericyte coverage, suggesting that pericytes influence blood vessel formation in an Olfml3-dependent manner. Olfml3-deficient mice exhibited abnormalities in the vasculature causing partial lethality of embryos and neonates. Reduced pericyte coverage was observed at embryonic day 12.5 and persisted throughout development, resulting in perinatal death of 35% of Olfml3-deficient mice. Cultured Olfml3-deficient pericytes exhibited aberrant motility and altered pericyte association to endothelial cells. Furthermore, the proliferative response of Olfml3-/- pericytes upon PDGF-B stimulation was significantly diminished. Subsequent experiments revealed that intact PDGF-B signaling, mediated via Olfml3 binding, is required for pericyte proliferation and activation of downstream kinase pathways. Our findings suggest a model wherein pericyte recruitment to endothelial cells requires Olfml3 to provide early instructive cue and retain PDGF-B along newly formed vessels to achieve optimal angiogenesis.

A major limitation of clinically used cancer drugs is the lack of specificity resulting in toxicity. To address this, we performed a phenotypically-driven screen to identify optimal multidrug combinations acting with high efficacy and selectivity in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). The search was performed using the Therapeutically Guided Multidrug Optimization (TGMO) method in ccRCC cells (786-O) and nonmalignant renal cells and identified a synergistic low-dose four-drug combination (C2) with high efficacy and negligible toxicity. We discovered that C2 inhibits multipolar spindle pole clustering, a survival mechanism employed by cancer cells with spindle abnormalities. This phenotype was also observed in 786-O cells resistant to sunitinib, the first line ccRCC treatment, as well as in melanoma cells with distinct percentages of supernumerary centrosomes. We conclude that C2-treatment shows a high efficacy in cells prone to form multipolar spindles. Our data suggest a highly effective and selective C2 treatment strategy for malignant and drug-resistant cancers.

Background: Crenolanib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting PDGFR-α, PDGFR-β and Fms related tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) that is currently evaluated in several clinical trials. Although platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) signalling pathway is believed to play an important role in angiogenesis and maintenance of functional vasculature, we here demonstrate a direct angiostatic activity of crenolanib independently of PDGFR signalling. Methods: The activity of crenolanib on cell viability, migration, sprouting, apoptosis and mitosis was assessed in endothelial cells, tumour cells and fibroblasts. Alterations in cell morphology were determined by immunofluorescence experiments. Flow-cytometry analysis and mRNA expression profiles were used to investigate cell differentiation. In vivo efficacy was investigated in human ovarian carcinoma implanted on the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Results: Crenolanib was found to inhibit endothelial cell viability, migration and sprout length, and induced apoptosis independently of PDGFR expression. Treated cells showed altered actin arrangement and nuclear aberrations. Mitosis was affected at several levels including mitosis entry and centrosome clustering. Crenolanib suppressed human ovarian carcinoma tumour growth and angiogenesis in the CAM model. Conclusions: The PDGFR/FLT3 inhibitor crenolanib targets angiogenesis and inhibits tumour growth in vivo unrelated to PDGFR expression. Based on our findings, we suggest a broad mechanism of action of crenolanib.

On appropriate stimuli, quiescent endothelial cells start to proliferate and form de novo blood vessels through angiogenesis. To further define molecular mechanisms accompanying the activation of endothelial cells during angiogenesis, we identified genes that were differentially regulated during this process using microarray analyses. In this work, we established a regulatory role for Sushi repeat protein X-linked 2 (Srpx2) in endothelial cell remodeling during angiogenesis. In particular, silencing of Srpx2 using small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) specifically attenuated endothelial cell migration and delayed angiogenic sprout formation. In vivo, Srpx2 expression was detected in de novo formation of blood vessels in angiogenic tissues by in situ mRNA hybridization and immunostaining. Pulldown experiments identified Srpx2 as a ligand for vascular uPAR, a key molecule involved in invasive migration of angiogenic endothelium. Immunostaining revealed coexpression of the Srpx2 and uPAR on vascular endothelium. These findings suggest that Srpx2 regulates endothelial cell migration and tube formation and provides a new target for modulating angiogenesis.

Atherosclerosis, caused in part by monocytes in plaques, continues to be a disease that afflicts the modern world. Whilst significant steps have been made in treating this chronic inflammatory disease, questions remain on how to prevent monocyte and macrophage accumulation in atherosclerotic plaques. Junctional Adhesion Molecule C (JAM-C) expressed by vascular endothelium directs monocyte transendothelial migration in a unidirectional manner leading to increased inflammation. Here we show that interfering with JAM-C allows reverse-transendothelial migration of monocyte-derived cells, opening the way back out of the inflamed environment. To study the role of JAM-C in plaque regression we used a mouse model of atherosclerosis, and tested the impact of vascular JAM-C expression levels on monocyte reverse transendothelial migration using human cells. Studies in-vitro under inflammatory conditions revealed that overexpression or gene silencing of JAM-C in human endothelium exposed to flow resulted in higher rates of monocyte reverse-transendothelial migration, similar to antibody blockade. We then transplanted atherosclerotic, plaque-containing aortic arches from hyperlipidemic ApoE-/- mice into wild-type normolipidemic recipient mice. JAM-C blockade in the recipients induced greater emigration of monocyte-derived cells and further diminished the size of atherosclerotic plaques. Our findings have shown that JAM-C forms a one-way vascular barrier for leukocyte transendothelial migration only when present at homeostatic copy numbers. We have also shown that blocking JAM-C can reduce the number of atherogenic monocytes/macrophages in plaques by emigration, providing a novel therapeutic strategy for chronic inflammatory pathologies.

De novo formation of blood vessels is a pivotal mechanism during cancer development. During the past few years, antiangiogenic drugs have been developed to target tumor vasculature. However, because of limitations and adverse effects observed with current therapies, there is a strong need for alternative antiangiogenic strategies. Using specific anti-junctional adhesion molecule (JAM)-B antibodies and Jam-b-deficient mice, we studied the role in antiangiogenesis of JAM-B. We found that antibodies against murine JAM-B, an endothelium-specific adhesion molecule, inhibited microvessel outgrowth from ex vivo aortic rings and in vitro endothelial network formation. In addition, anti-JAM-B antibodies blocked VEGF signaling, an essential pathway for angiogenesis. Moreover, increased aortic ring branching was observed in aortas isolated from Jam-b-deficient animals, suggesting that JAM-B negatively regulates proangiogenic pathways. In mice, JAM-B expression was detected in de novo-formed blood vessels of tumors, but anti-JAM-B antibodies unexpectedly did not reduce tumor growth. Accordingly, JAM-B deficiency in vivo had no impact on blood vessel formation, suggesting that targeting JAM-B in vivo may be offset by other proangiogenic mechanisms. In conclusion, despite the promising effects observed in vitro, targeting JAM-B during tumor progression seems to be inefficient as a stand-alone antiangiogenesis therapy.

Antiangiogenic drugs have been used as anticancer agents to target tumor endothelial cells or pericytes. Because of limited efficacy of the current monotherapies, there is a strong demand for the dual targeting of endothelial cells and pericytes. Here, we identify Olfactomedin-like 3 (Olfml3) as a novel proangiogenic cue within the tumor microenvironment. Tumor-derived Olfml3 is produced by both tumor endothelial cells and accompanying pericytes and deposited in the perivascular compartment. Blockade of Olfml3 by anti-Olfml3 antibodies is highly effective in reducing tumor vascularization, pericyte coverage, and tumor growth. In vitro, Olfml3 targeting is sufficient to inhibit endothelioma cell migration and sprouting. Olfml3 alone or through binding to BMP4 enhances the canonical SMAD1/5/8 signaling pathway required for BMP4-induced angiogenesis. Therefore, Olfml3 blockade provides a novel strategy to control tumor growth by targeting two distinct cell types within the tumor microenvironment using a single molecule. Mol Cancer Ther; 11(12); 2588–99. ©2012 AACR.

Monocyte recruitment from the vasculature involves sequential engagement of multiple receptors, culminating in transendothelial migration and extravasation. Junctional adhesion molecule-C (JAM-C) is localized at endothelial intercellular junctions and plays a role in monocyte transmigration. Here, we show that blockade of JAM-B/-C interaction reduced monocyte numbers in the extravascular compartment through increased reverse transmigration rather than by reduced transmigration. This was confirmed in vivo, showing that an anti–JAM-C antibody reduced the number of monocytes in inflammatory tissue and increased the number of monocytes with a reverse-transmigratory phenotype in the peripheral blood. All together, our results suggest a novel mechanism of reducing accumulation of monocytes at inflammation sites by disruption of JAM-C–mediated monocyte retention.