O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a presença da proteínas - fator de crescimento endotelial vascular (VEGF) e seus receptores R1 (Flt-1) e R2 (Flk-1) em placentas a termo de gestantes com hipergliccemia leve, comparando estes resultados com o observado em placentas de gestantes normoglicêmicas e diabéticas gestacional e clínica, através de reações de imunohistoquímica e Western Blotting. Resultados: em geral, placentas de gestantes normoglicêmicas apresentam reatividade bastante expressiva aos anticorpos contra VEGF, VEGF-R1 e -R2 nas células vasculares e trofoblásticas. Reações destacadamente intensas foram observadas no endotélio capilar, células mesenquimais, sinciciotrofoblasto e células citotrofoblásticas extravilosas para VEGF e VEGF-R2. Estes resultados sugerem que o balance VEGF/VEGFR está alterado nas placentas de gestantes com hiperglicemia leve, o que pode ser um aspecto crucial para explicar a hipercapilarização induzida nos vilos terminais neste distúrbio glicêmicos. / O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a presença da proteínas - fator de crescimento endotelial vascular (VEGF) e seus receptores R1 (Flt-1) e R2 (Flk-1) em placentas a termo de gestantes com hipergliccemia leve, comparando estes resultados com o observado em placentas de gestantes normoglicêmicas e diabéticas gestacional e clínica, através de reações de imunohistoquímica e Western Blotting. Resultados: em geral, placentas de gestantes normoglicêmicas apresentam reatividade bastante expressiva aos anticorpos contra VEGF, VEGF-R1 e -R2 nas células vasculares e trofoblásticas. Reações destacadamente intensas foram observadas no endotélio capilar, células mesenquimais, sinciciotrofoblasto e células citotrofoblásticas extravilosas para VEGF e VEGF-R2. Estes resultados sugerem que o balance VEGF/VEGFR está alterado nas placentas de gestantes com hiperglicemia leve, o que pode ser um aspecto crucial para explicar a hipercapilarização induzida nos vilos terminais neste distúrbio glicêmicos.

Atheromas contain hypoxic areas which upregulate HIF1α expression, promoting angiogenesis and unstable lesion formation. Simvastatin stabilises atheromas through preventing rupture and neovascularisation. Atheromas express matrix metalloproteinase 14 (MMP14) which degrades matrix proteins and promotes neovascularisation. MMP14 is upregulated by hypoxia and contains Hypoxic-Inducible Factor (HIF) recognition sequences (5’-RCGTG-3’). My project sought to investigate if HIF1α interacts with the MMP14 promoter to enhance MMP14 expression, and whether simvastatin attenuates this effect, inhibiting angiogenesis. Immunostaining of atheromas identified MMP14 and HIF1α localisation. Protein-DNA binding assays were performed on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and showed HIF1α bound to the MMP14 promoter in hypoxia, which was significantly decreased by simvastatin. To assess gene regulation, a human MMP14 promoter-firefly luciferase reporter construct was transfected into C166 endothelial cells alongside HIF-overexpression plasmids and mutations of the MMP14 promoter region at HIF recognition sequences. Overexpression of HIF1α and HIF1β increased MMP14 activity which was abolished by introducing the mutations and diminished by simvastatin in a HIF-dependent manner. Immunoblots, flow cytometry, scratch assays and bromodeoxyuridine incorporation showed HIF1α knockdown and simvastatin significantly attenuated hypoxia upregulated MMP14 expression, migration and proliferation in a HIF1α-dependent manner. Angiogenesis was assessed using in vivo sponge angiogenesis assays and ex vivo aortic ring assays cultured in hypoxia or normoxia, with or without 0.1μM simvastatin, and MMP14 inhibitor, utilising HIF1αfl/flTie1Cre+ and wildtype littermates. Simvastatin perturbed angiogenesis through decreasing MMP14 expression in a HIF1α-dependent manner. The results show hypoxia upregulates MMP14 through HIF1α interaction with the MMP14 promoter. Simvastatin attenuates MMP14 upregulation which reduces HIF1α:MMP14 promoter interaction. HIF1α knockdown and simvastatin treated HUVECs show less migration and proliferation, equivalent to that of MMP14 inhibition. Simvastatin inhibits neovascularisation in a HIF1α-dependent manner. These results suggest simvastatin may stabilise atheromas through inhibiting MMP14 driven angiogenesis which may have further implications in the treatment of atherosclerosis.

Elevated levels of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6, IL-6, have been linked with poor prognosis in ovarian cancer patients by influencing tumour growth, invasion, angiogenesis and chemo-resistance. A clinical trial conducted in parallel with pre-clinical studies showed an anti-IL-6 antibody to have some activity in ovarian cancer patients and in xenograft models, via reduction in pro-inflammatory and angiogenic factors such as TNF-α, IL-8 and VEGF. Anti-IL-6 treatment also showed significant reductions in vascular area with decreased expression of an angiogenic factor Jagged1. The aim of my study was to investigate the effects of IL-6 on normal and tumour angiogenesis. I found that recombinant IL-6 stimulates angiogenesis in mouse and rat aortic ring assays and that it can also stimulate growth and migration of endothelial cells in vitro. IL-6 has similar potency as VEGF in inducing vessel sprouting. IL-6 itself does not induce VEGF in the endothelial cells I tested. Investigation of the effects of IL-6 on vessel maturation revealed a significant reduction in pericyte coverage of vessels treated with IL-6 compared with VEGF. Collectively, these data led to my hypothesis that ‘IL-6 drives aberrant angiogenesis, independent of VEGF signalling’. Investigating the mechanism by which IL-6 drives angiogenesis and leads to defective pericyte formation, I showed a link between IL-6 and the Notch ligands, Jagged1 and DLL4. My data suggested that IL-6 could stimulate Jagged1 in endothelial cells, whereas VEGF induces DLL4, the Notch ligand known to be involved in inducing stalk phenotype. Exploring previous findings to get a better understanding of the interaction of Notch ligands and pericyte recruitment also suggested a role of Angiopoeitin-2 in relation to IL-6 signalling. These observations were extended in IGROV-1 ovarian cancer xenografts treated with an anti-IL-6 antibody and by analysis of gene expression datasets from ovarian cancer biopsies. My results suggest therapeutic potential of combining inhibitors of IL-6 and VEGF in ovarian cancer.

The development and function of the heart is governed by a conserved set of transcription factors (TFs) that regulate gene expression in a cell-type, time point and stimulus driven manner. Of these core cardiac TFs, the most ubiquitously expressed is the zinc finger protein GATA4. In cardiomyocytes, GATA4 is central to proliferation, differentiation, hypertrophy and induction of pro-survival pathways. In cardiac endothelial cells, it is required for valve and septal development, although the exact mechanisms remain unclear. To regulate such a wide array of functions in a spatially and temporally controlled manner, GATA4 interacts with specific protein partners, the majority of whom have been identified in cardiomyocytes. However, a complete understanding of the protein interactome of GATA4, particularly in cardiac endothelial cells, has not yet been achieved. Using a mass spectrometry-based approach, we have identified a series of novel GATA4 interacting partners in cardiac endothelial cells. 3xFlag GATA4 was stably overexpressed via retroviral transduction in the TC13 cardiac endothelial precursor cell line, immunoprecipitated from nuclear protein extracts and sent for HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Several novel GATA4 interacting partners were identified including the chaperone protein Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70), the inducible orphan nuclear receptor Nerve Growth Factor 1β (NGFIβ, NUR77) and the Drosophila-Binding/Human Splicing protein family members Non-POU Domain Containing Octamer Binding Protein (NONO) and Paraspeckle 1 (PSPC1). Chapter 1 discusses the interaction between GATA4 and HSP70 and its role in cardiomyocyte survival upon exposure to chemotherapeutic agent Doxorubicin (DOX). HSP70 binds directly to GATA4, preventing DOX-mediated cleavage and degradation by Caspase-1, cardiomyocyte cell death and heart failure. Chapter 2 focuses on the cooperative interaction between GATA4 and NUR77 in cardiac microvascular endothelial cells and its central role in myocardial angiogenesis in response to pressure overload. The GATA4-NUR77 complex transactivates the promoter of Angiopoietin-Like 7 (ANGPTL7), a secreted pro-angiogenic chemotactic factor, triggering endothelial cell proliferation and tube formation in cultured cardiac endothelial cells and increasing myocardial capillary density in vivo. Chapter 3 discusses the interaction between GATA4 and the DBHS proteins NONO and PSPC1 in the regulation of cardiac development. These proteins play opposing roles when bound to GATA4 as PSPC1 enhances GATA4 activation of critical cardiac promoter targets and NONO acts as a rheostat to repress GATA4 activity. In vivo, loss of NONO results in left ventricular non-compaction consistent with humans with loss-of-function mutations. However, simultaneous Gata4 haploinsufficiency partially rescues this phenotype. Together, this data identifies multiple novel cell type and time point specific GATA4 protein partners and sheds light on GATA4 regulatory mechanisms in cardiac development and disease.

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have elucidated that diabetes mellitus (DM) patients exhibit an accelerated tumor progression, but the mechanism of its regulation is not yet fully understood. The following study seeks to examine the role of angiogenic factors in the growth of subcutaneously injected melanoma cancer using a diet-induced type II diabetic mouse model. METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were fed either a regular or high-fat, high-sucrose (HFHS) diet for 2 months (T2DM model; confirmed through a GTT) and subcutaneously injected with B16F0 melanoma cells. After a 1-week or 2-week incubation period, the tumor was extracted to examine its size, weight, vascularity, and gene/protein expression. In vitro studies were performed using endothelial cells to assess the effects of high-glucose on endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and tube formation. GLRX expression was examined in both tumor samples and endothelial cells. RESULTS: The results of the study showed that T2DM induced by a HFHS diet is able to promote tumor growth in both weight (2-week, p = 0.0070) and volume (1-week, p = 0.0351; 2-week, p = 0.0002). Tumors extracted from the HFHS diet group showed reduced expressions of angiogenic markers (ACTA2 (1-week, p = 0.0239; 2-week, p = 0.0123), KDR (1-week, p = 0.0091)) by western blot and a slightly reduced trend of angiogenesis (PECAM1) in histological analyses. GLRX expression was reduced in HFHS tumor samples (1-week, p = 0.0090) and, interestingly, lower amounts of GSH adducts (2-week, p = 0.0317) could be seen in 2-week tumors as well. In vitro studies of endothelial cells showed reduced trends of endothelial cell function (proliferation, migration, and tube formation) in high glucose medium. Also, it has been observed that high glucose may be able to stimulate GLRX expression in endothelial cells. CONCLUSION: The results of the following study have confirmed that B16F0 melanoma growth is, in fact, augmented in diet-induced diabetic mice; however, the vascularity and levels of angiogenic markers from the tumor tissues did not parallel the growth in its size. In vitro studies suggested that high glucose can impair EC function (i.e. proliferation, migration, and tube formation capabilities) as well as promote GLRX expression, which may be related to this discrepancy. Glutaredoxin-1 (GLRX), an enzyme which controls redox signaling, is upregulated in DM. Endothelial cell-specific GLRX overexpression in transgenic mice was found to stimulate subcutaneously injected melanoma (B16F0) growth, despite hindering limb revascularization after hind limb ischemia. The augmented tumor progression in DM may be associated with GLRX upregulation, alongside impaired ischemic limb revascularization and tumor angiogenesis; however, the mechanism of tumor growth in diabetes still lies inconclusive and further studies need to be examined to elucidate this phenomenon.

Tumour angiogenesis is a hallmark of cancer. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase involved in endothelial cells (ECs) survival, proliferation and migration. FAK has several tyrosine phosphorylation sites thought to be involved in FAK function but the requirement of phosphorylation of these residues in vivo is unknown. We have generated mice where endogenous FAK is deleted simultaneously with the expression of nonphosphorylatable FAK-Y397F or FAK-Y861F mutated or wild type forms of FAK in adult endothelium in order to test this. My data show that EC-FAK-Y397FKI mice present with decreased tumour angiogenesis (in sygeneic B16F0, CMT19T and LLC) but impaired B16F0 and CMT19T tumour growth only, with increased tumour hypoxia. FAK-Y397F tumour endothelium is not perfusion, leakage or vascular maturation defective. This mutation affects VEGF-, PlGF- and bFGF-driven angiogenesis in vivo and VEGF+Ang2 administration is able to partially rescue this phenotype ex vivo. In contrast, endothelial FAK-Y861F mutation leads to an initial delay in B16F0 tumour angiogenesis, that subsequently resolves, and does not affect B16F0 tumour growth. LLC and CMT19T tumour growth and angiogenesis are not affected by the endothelial FAK-Y861F mutation; neither are tumour blood vessel perfusion, leakage, vascular maturation or tumour hypoxia. VEGF-, PlGFand bFGF-driven angiogenesis in vivo and ex vivo was not affected by the endothelial FAK-Y861F mutation, whereas increased in vivo angiogenesis was triggered by Ang2 administration. Lastly, to understand whether cytokine profiles that might affect angiocrine signalling are affected differentially in FAK-Y397F vs FAK-Y861F endothelial cells, I show that CCL1 and CCL2 are increased in FAK-Y397F but IL- 13, IL-1F3, CCL4, IL-1F1, CCL2 and others are increased in FAK-Y861F endothelial cells. Overall my data indicates that endothelial-specific FAK mutations on two phosphorylation sites has different effects on tumour angiogenesis, tumour growth, growth factor stimulated angiogenesis in vivo and ex-vivo and cytokine production.

OBJETIVO: demonstrar as alterações histológicas secundárias ao uso de bevacizumabe na aorta descendente de suínos submetida à interrupção dos vasa vasorum. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: em doze suínos, divididos em grupos tratamento e controle (n=6 cada) foi realizada dissecção por 5 cm da aorta torácica, ligadura das artérias intercostais e cobertura com polivinil; o grupo tratamento recebeu uma dose endovenosa única de bevacizumabe. Após quinze dias, os animais foram sacrificados para retirada da artéria e preparo das lâminas histológicas dos grupos tratamento, controle e área não manipulada dos dois grupos. As lâminas foram analisadas com relação aos graus de angiogênese, injúria, inflamação e espessamento intimal. A análise estatística foi conduzida através da média e do desvio-padrão dos escores e as comparações entre os grupos foram realizadas pelo teste de Mann-Whitney. Para obtenção de intervalos de confiança de 95% para as médias das contagens dos escores utilizou-se a distribuição de Poisson, a fim de determinar o efeito estatístico. RESULTADOS: o bevacizumabe causou parefeitos em todos os suínos tratados, com um óbito. As variáveis analisadas através da Escala de Magnitude para Efeito Estatístico, demonstram tendência de redução da angiogênese e da injúria e de aumento da inflamação no limite do moderado. Não ocorreu modificação do espessamento intimal entre os grupos. CONCLUSÃO: a medicação utilizada na lesão da parede arterial induzindo hipóxia, mostrou tendência de redução da angiogênese e da injúria, mas não reduziu o processo inflamatório ou o espessamento intimal da parede arterial. O bevacizumabe mostrou toxicidade no modelo suíno. / OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate histological changes secondary to the use of bevacizumab in the descending aorta of pigs after interruption of vasa vasorum flow. METHODS: Twelve pigs were divided into control and treatment groups (n = 6 each). It was performed a 5-cm dissection of the thoracic aorta, ligation of the intercostal arteries and protection with polyvinyl chloride. Pigs in the treatment group received a single intravenous dose of bevacizumab. After 15 days, the animals were euthanized and the aorta removed. Histological slides were prepared for control and treatment groups and for the non-surgically manipulated part of the aorta in both groups. The slides were analyzed for the degree of angiogenesis, injury, inflammation, and intimal thickening. Data were expressed as mean (SD) of scores and groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney test. The Poisson distribution was used to calculate 95% confidence intervals for the mean scores in order to determine effect statistics. RESULTS: Bevacizumab had adverse effects on all treated pigs, leading to one death. The analysis using a scale of magnitudes for effect statistics showed a trend toward a decrease in angiogenesis and injury and an increase in inflammation for moderate effects. There was no change in intimal thickening in either group. CONCLUSION: The medication used for arterial wall injury inducing hypoxia showed a trend toward reduced angiogenesis and injury, but with no reduction in the inflammatory process or intimal thickening of the arterial wall. Bevacizumab showed toxicity in the porcine model.

Cheung Wing-hoi. / "December 1999." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

Les glioblastomes sont des tumeurs fatales du fait de leur agressivité et du manque de traitements efficaces. La prolifération accrue, le caractère invasif et la résistance à la mort cellulaire du compartiment tumoral des glioblastomes leur confèrent une croissance rapide et une invasion du parenchyme cérébral environnant, à l’origine de leur systématique récidive. De plus, le processus d’angiogenèse au sein de ces tumeurs participe activement au mauvais pronostic en développant une forte vascularisation qui favorise leur croissance.Un peptide vasoactif l’Adrénomédulline (AM), est exprimé de façon ubiquitaire chez l’homme et a de ce fait un large champ d’action à travers l’organisme dont la progression tumorale en agissant de façon autocrine et paracrine via ses récepteurs CLR/RAMP2 et CLR/RAMP3 (« AMR »). Or l’expression de l’AM est corrélée avec le grade des gliomes. De plus, il a été démontré au sein de notre équipe que des anticorps polyclonaux anti-AM développés au laboratoire inhibent la prolifération des cellules gliales tumorales de glioblastomes in vitro ainsi que la croissance tumorale in vivo. Il a également été montré que des anticorps polyclonaux (anti-AMR) dirigés contre les récepteurs de l’AM (CLR, RAMP2 et RAMP3) inhibent in vitro la croissance, la migration et la formation en pseudo-capillaires des cellules endothéliales (HUVECs), suggérant une neutralisation par ces anticorps, de certaines étapes de l’angiogenèse. De même, il a été démontré dans des modèles in vivo que les anticorps anti-AMR inhibent la croissance tumorale en supprimant l’angiogenèse et la croissance des cellules tumorales, suggérant ainsi que les récepteurs de l’AM constitueraient une bonne cible thérapeutique. Ces études ayant été effectuées à partir de lignées cellulaires, nous avons caractérisé le système AM/AMR au sein des composantes gliales et microvasculaires provenant des cultures primaires de glioblastomes de patients puis nous avons testé l’effet de l’AM dans certains phénomènes caractéristiques des glioblastomes comme l’invasion et certaines étapes de l’angiogenèse tumorale. Il résulte de cette étude que l’AM est trois fois plus secrétée par la composante microvasculaire tumorale au sein de laquelle l’AM favorise la migration, l’invasion et l’organisation en pseudo-capillaires. De plus, l’AM favorise l’invasion des cellules de la composante gliale tumorale.Des anticorps capables de reconnaître et neutraliser à la fois l’AM, le CLR, RAMP2 et RAMP3 agissant de la même manière sur la croissance tumorale et l’angiogenèse représenteraient un bénéfice thérapeutique majeure. Le laboratoire a alors développé des anticorps dirigés contre un peptide chimérique constitué de l’enchainement de séquences peptidiques des protéines CLR, RAMP2, RAMP3 et du peptide AM (« AMRc »). Les tests effectués avec les anticorps anti-AMRc nous permettent d’affirmer leur efficacité sur le système AM/AMR. Le traitement par ces anticorps diminue la croissance in vitro et in vivo des cellules tumorales de glioblastomes U87, ainsi que leur migration et leur invasion et la densité vasculaire au sein de xénogreffes, ce qui suggère leur effet sur l’angiogenèse tumorale. De plus, le traitement par ces anticorps augmente la perméabilité du modèle de cellules endothéliale microvasculaires HMECs. Ces résultats très encourageants, nous permettent donc pour le moment de valider la faisabilité du concept d’anticorps développés à partir d’un peptide chimère pour neutraliser le sytème AM/AMR, dans le but d’envisager dans le futur une application thérapeutique. / Glioblastomas are fatal tumors because of their aggressiveness and the lack of effective treatments. The increased proliferation, invasiveness and resistance in cell death of glioblastomas tumoral compartment confer them a fast growth and an invasion of the surrounding cerebral parenchyma, at the origin of glioblastomas systematic recurrence. Furthermore, angiogenesis within these tumors participates actively in the poor prognosis developing a strong vascularization, which favors their growth.Adrenomedullin (AM), is a vasoactive peptide ubiquitously expressed in humans and thus induces multiple biological actions through the body as tumor growth, via autocrine and paracrine activation of its receptors CLR/RAMP2 and CLR/RAMP3 (« AMR »). But AM expression is correlated with gliomas grading and our team demonstrated that polyclonal antibodies « anti-AM » developped in the laboratory inhibited in vitro glioblastoma tumoral cells proliferation and in vivo tumor growth. Polyclonal antibodies (anti-AMR) directed against AM receptors (CLR, RAMP2 and RAMP3) also inhibited in vitro growth, migration and endothelial cells (HUVECs) pseudo-capillar formation, suggesting neutralization of some steps of angiogenesis. Moreover, anti-AMR antibodies inhibited in vivo tumor growth by suppression of angiogenesis, suggesting AM receptors as a therapeutical target.These studies have been done from lineage cells. We thus characterized AM/AMR system within glial and microvascular components from patients glioblastoma primary cultures and we investigated AM impact in some stages of angiogenesis. We showed that AM was three fold higher expressed by microvascular cells in whom AM induces migration, invasion and organization into a meshwork of capillary-like tubular structures. AM increased too, glial tumoral cells migration and invasion.Antibodies able to recognize and neutralize AM, CLR, RAMP2, RAMP3 and acting in tumor growth and angiogenesis would represent a major therapeutic benefit. Then, the laboratory developped polyclonal antibodies directed against one chimeric peptide synthesized with AM, CLR, RAMP2 and RAMP3 peptide sequences (named « AMRc »). The tests made with anti-AMRc antibodies allow us to assert their efficiency on the AM / AMR system. Glioblastoma cell line U87’s growth decreases in vitro and in vivo after treatment with anti-AMRc antibodies, as well as its migration, invasion and vascular density inside tumor xenografts, suggesting an impact in tumor angiogenesis. Furthermore, the treatment with these antibodies increases the microvascular endothelial HMECs permeability. These promising results allow us to validate the feasibility of a concept of antibodies developed against one peptide to neutralize AM/AMR system, in order to envisage a future therapeutic application.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are required for tissue remodelling processes, including angiogenesis. MMP activity is generally proangiogenic but MMP-12 is suggested to be antiangiogenic and its precise role is still unclear. The work in this thesis describes the synthesis of an MMP-12 inhibitor and activity probe to address the hypothesis that MMP-12 inhibits angiogenesis. An inhibitor, synthesised in-house, selectively inhibited MMP-12 in in vitro recombinant enzyme assays. An activity probe, also synthesised in-house, was selective for MMP-12 in in vitro recombinant enzyme assays. The function of MMP-12 during angiogenesis was assessed using murine models of angiogenesis; the in vivo sponge implantation, and the ex vivo aortic ring assays. Angiogenesis and MMP activity were imaged in vivo in sponges in C57Bl6/J mice over 7 − 21 days (D) using commercial probes (MMPSense™ and AngioSense™). MMP-12 protein concentration and activity were higher in sponges during early angiogenesis (D 3 − 7) when gene expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (a proangiogenic marker) was also high. Gene expression for MMP-12 and platelet-derived growth factor receptor (a marker of vascular maturation) were both higher on D 21 as angiogenesis started to stabilise. The MMP-12 activity probe was unsuccessful in selectively detecting MMP-12 activity in sponge lysate mixtures from D 7 − 21. Administration of an MMP-12 inhibitor did not increase angiogenesis in the sponges in vivo. Additionally, sponges implanted in MMP-12-/- mice did not exhibit significant changes in angiogenesis or MMP activity when imaged in vivo using commercial probes (MMPSense™ and AngioSense™) on D 7. Supporting this, histological analysis of the sponges (removed on D 21) showed that deletion of MMP-12 also did not increase angiogenesis within the sponges.