To this day heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remains a poorly understood malady. Half of all heart failure (HF) cases are HFpEF, and the prevalence of HF is on the rise. Unlike HF with reduced ejection fraction, HFpEF has no treatment options and is often times difficult to diagnose because victims of HFpEF often have pre-existing conditions. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been implicated in maintaining myocardial health and is thought to play a role in HFpEF. We sought to test the hypothesis that VEGF-A plays a role in HFpEF in a hypertensive murine model of HFpEF. Using Western blot analysis we found that there was an up regulation of VEGF-A in the homogenized left ventricle (LV) of our HFpEF mice. Unexpectedly, there was a down regulation of VEGF-A in the homogenized tissue from the aorta in those mice. To study the circulating levels of VEGF in our HFpEF mice we used an ELISA. We found that our HFpEF mice had similar levels of circulating VEGF as our control. This suggests that VEGF has paracrine/autocrine role in our HFpEF model rather than endocrine, like our human data suggested. To identify the cells responsible for the expression profile we saw in the homogenized tissue data we looked at the response of adult rat ventricular myocytes (ARVM) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) to aldosterone stimulation at short (1hr) and long (24hr) time points at both physiological (50nm) and pathological (1μm) concentrations. To do this analysis we recruited the help of Western blot, ELISA and RT-PCR techniques to construct a consistent VEGF expression profile. The Western blot ARVM data showed statistically significant (P<0.05) increase in VEGF-A to pathological doses of aldosterone, especially at the longer time point. When we tested the VSMC using Western blot analysis, we found that the trend of our n=1 sample suggested a strong response to the physiological dose of aldosterone in the short term. Using the more sensitive ELISA technique to measure the VEGF content of our VCMS we increasing our sample size to n=4 and found no statistically significant (p=NS) response to aldosterone stimulation from the VSMC. However, looking at the trends in the data it is clear that VSMC increases VEGF in response to long-term physiological doses of aldosterone. This is contrary to what we found using Western blot analysis, so we queried the VEGF mRNA from the VSMC to settle the score. Unfortunately, this too proved fruitless. The RT-PCR data was not significant and the trend was that of the ARVM expression profile. We initially turned to VSMC because we hypothesized that they could contribute to the paracrine/autocrine activity similar to what we saw in the LV from the ARVM. It is unclear if VSMC play a role in HFpEF progression, but their lack of consistent response to aldosterone could potential explain the down regulation of VEGF-A we observed in the aorta of our HFpEF mice. We initially sough to test the hypothesis that VEGF-A plays a role in our HFpEF mouse model, what we found was that ARVM contribute to localized VEGF-A increased production in the LV while in the aorta there is a down regulation of VEGF-A in our HFpEF model, we are unable to make any conclusion about VSMC response to aldosterone because of insufficient sample size. Thus in conclusion, it appears that VEGF-A does play a role in our HFpEF model specifically in a paracrine/autocrine manner in the LV where the ARVM contributes to the increased production of the cytokine.

Introdução: A Organização Mundial da Saúde estimou para o ano de 2008 aproximadamente 1.38 milhões de casos novos de câncer de mama no mundo e 458 mil mortes. A maioria dos casos (56%) e das mortes (64%), ocorrendo em países economicamente desenvolvidos. Apesar dos avanços e do diagnostico precoce, um número significativo de mulheres com tumores da mama operáveis apresentando evolução desfavorável vêm à sucumbir devido ao surgimento de doença metastática. Uma melhor compreensão da heterogeneidade do tumor e das características microambientais subjacentes, bem como dos mecanismos e as consequências das suas interações é essencial para melhorar o direcionamento das terapias existentes e desenvolver novos agentes terapêuticos para o câncer. Objetivos: Descrever as características clínicas, anatomopatológicas e imuno-histoquímicas de um grupo de pacientes com câncer de mama operável, e estudar o impacto destas características no estadiamento da doença, sobrevivência livre de recorrência e sobrevivência global. Além disto, analisar as potenciais correlações existentes entre estas características. Métodos: Estudo de coorte retrospectiva de base hospitalar envolvendo 86 mulheres com câncer primário de mama, submetidas a tratamento entre julho de 1999 e dezembro de 2004, no Serviço de Mastologia do Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre. Dados clinicopatológicos e imuno-histoquimicos (RE, RP, HER2, Ki67 e p53) foram coletados dos registros hospitalares. Expressão do VEGF, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1 e TIMP-2 foram analisadas através de imuno-histoquimica. Variáveis contínuas foram analisadas pelo coeficiente de correlação de Spearman, ou pelo teste não paramétrico U de Mann-Whitney e H de Kruskal-Wallis, quando comparadas com variáveis categóricas. Variáveis categóricas foram analisadas pelo teste 2 de Pearson. Estimativas da probabilidade de sobrevivência foram obtidas pelo estimador não paramétrico de Kaplan-Meier e pelo semiparamétrico modelo de regressão de Cox. Comparação entre as curvas de sobrevivência foi realizada pelo teste estatístico de log-rank. O IC foi calculado em 95% e valores p< 0,05 foram considerados estatisticamente significativos. Resultados: A sobrevivência livre de recorrência em 5 e 10 anos foi de 82,2% e 68%, e a global foi de 90,2% e 82,9%, respectivamente. Número de linfonodos positivos (p= 0,00; p= 0,03), diâmetro tumoral (p= 0,01; p= 0,01) e estádio (p= 0,00; p= 0,02) são fatores de risco isolado para recorrência e óbito, respectivamente. Superexpressão de HER2 é um fator de risco isolado para recorrência (p= 0,04). Existe uma correlação positiva significativa entre: VEGF e MMP-9 (rs: 0,246; p= 0,023); TIMP-2 e MMP-2 (rs: 0,358; p= 0,001). Também foram encontradas associações significativas entre as variáveis: a) VEGF e receptor de progesterona positivo (p= 0,045); b) TIMP-2 e idade ≥ 50 anos (p= 0,002), e diâmetro ≤ 2,0 cm (p= 0,016); c) TIMP-1 e menarca ≤ 12 anos (p= 0,038); d) Maior diâmetro e alto grau histológico (2: 19,3; p= 0,004), invasão vascular (2: 12,6; p= 0,006), status do linfonodo axilar (2: 8,6; p= 0,035), número de linfonodos metastáticos (2: 7,2; p= 0,028), e recidiva a distancia (2: 4,0; p= 0,046); e) Invasão vascular e status do linfonodo axilar, e número de linfonodos metastáticos, ambos com 2: 24,7; p= 0,000. Conclusões: O número de linfonodos positivos, diâmetro tumoral, e estádio foram identificados como fatores de risco isolado para a ocorrência de recidiva e óbito. A superexpressão de HER2 é fator de risco isolado para a ocorrência de recidiva da doença. Novas pesquisas devem ser realizadas, com padronização de procedimento e um maior número de casos para melhor caracterização da doença. / Background: The World Health Organization estimated approximately 1.38 million new breast cancer cases and 458,000 deaths worldwide for 2008. Most of these (56% of new cases and 64% of deaths) occur in economically developed countries. In Brazil, approximately 52,000 new cases are predicted for 2013. Better understand the heterogeneity of the tumor and microenvironmental characteristics around you, as well as the mechanisms and consequences of their interactions is essential to improve the targeting of existing therapies and develop new therapeutic agents for cancer. Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical, anatomopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics of a group of patients with operable breast cancer, and investigate the impact of these characteristics on disease staging, disease-free survival and overall survival. In addition, the potential correlations between these characteristics were analyzed. Methods: This is a hospital-based retrospective cohort study of 86 women with primary breast cancer, subjected to surgical and adjuvant treatment between July 1999 and December 2004. Clinicopathological and immunohistochemical (ER, PR, HER2, Ki67 e p53) data were collected from hospital records. The expression of VEGF, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 was analyzed using the immunohistochemical technique. Continuous variables were assessed with Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, or the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U or Kruskal-Wallis H tests. Pearson’s 2 test was employed to asses categorical variables. The possibility of survival was estimated using the non-parametric Kaplan-Meier estimator and the semiparametric Cox regression model. Survival curves were compared using the statistical log-rank test. CI was calculated at 95% and p values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Disease-free survival at 5 and 10 years was 82.2% and 68%, and overall survival 90.2% and 82.9%, respectively. Number of positive lymph nodes (p= 0.00; p= 0.03), tumor diameter (p= 0.01; p= 0.01) and stage (p= 0.00; p= 0.02) were isolated risk factors for relapse and death, respectively. HER2 overexpression was an isolated risk factor for relapse (p= 0.04). There was a significant positive correlation between: VEGF and MMP-9 (rs: 0.246; p= 0.023) and TIMP-2 and MMP-2 (rs: 0.358; p= 0.001). Significant associations were also recorded between the following variables: a) VEGF and progesterone receptor-positive status (p= 0.045); TIMP-2 and age ≥ 50 years (p= 0.002) and diameter ≤ 2.0 cm (p= 0.016); c) TIMP-1 and menarche ≤ 12 years (p= 0.038); d) greater diameter and high histologic grade (2: 19.3; p= 0.004), vascular invasion (2: 12.6; p= 0.006), axillary lymph node status (2: 8.6; p= 0.035), number of metastatic lymph nodes (2: 7.2; p= 0.028) and distant relapse (2: 4.0; p= 0.046); e) vascular invasion and axillary lymph node status and number of metastatic lymph nodes, both with 2: 24.7 and p= 0.000. Conclusion: Number of positive lymph nodes, tumor diameter, and stage were identified as isolated risk factors for relapse and death. HER2 overexpression is an isolated risk factor for the occurrence of relapse. Further studies are needed, with standardization of the procedure and a larger number of cases, for better characterization of the disease.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is a highly conserved ligand that is involved in the regulation of angiogenesis and vasculogenesis, however, alternative roles of the ligand have been emerging. Organisms such as jellyfish and Drosophila contain VEGF homologs, yet they do not possess endothelial cells or a vascular system indicating that VEGF might have other primitive roles. In this current study we investigated how VEGF affects the post-natal development of the intestinal epithelial by either overexpressing VEGF or by reducing the bioavailability of VEGF with the overexpression of soluble VEGF receptor (sFLT-1) within the gastrointestinal tract. After three weeks of VEGF overexpression, mutant mice displayed an increase in villus height and proliferation in the transit-amplifying zone with the decrease of crypts per measured length and Lgr5 expression. On the other hand, sFLT-1 overexpressing mice had an increase in crypt depth with a decrease in villus height, proliferation in the transit-amplifying zone, crypts per measured length and reduced expression of Dll1 and Bmp4. Overall the availability of VEGF has the ability to alter the proliferation of progenitor cells in the crypt by either a direct or indirect signals. These studies reveal that by some means VEGF is altering the developing post-natal intestinal epithelium and proliferation. Largely, elucidating the interaction between VEGF and intestinal stem cells in intestinal development and differentiation may help to advance intestinal stem cell therapies in intestinal dysfunction or disease

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde das Expressionsverhalten fünf zellulärer Marker beim metastasierenden Plattenepithelkarzinom des Kopf- und Halsbereiches untersucht. Bei den getesteten Markern handelte es sich um einen MAGE-A, zwei verschiedenen VEGF, einen EGFR und einen C-Src-Tyrosinkinase Antikörper. Im Einzelnen sollte hinterfragt werden, ob ein Zusammenhang zwischen der Antikörperexpression und verschiedenen, klinischen und histopathologischen Parametern (pT-Stadium, pN-Stadium, histologisches Grading, Tumorverhornung, Patientenalter, Geschlecht des Patienten) besteht. Weiterhin war von Interesse, ob Parallelen zwischen dem Expressionsverhalten der verschiedenen Antikörper untereinander zu erkennen sind. Die Ergebnisse wurden anschließend mit Erkenntnissen aus anderen Studien und Literaturangaben verglichen. / This study aimed to evaluate the expression profiles of cellular marker in metastatic head and neck cancer in the primary tumor and in the metastases. The expression profiles of MAGE-A, VEGF-A, VEGF-C, EGFR and c-Src in 50 squamous cell carcinoma were characterised by immunhistochemical stainig.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2007. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 154 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) are key regulators of growth, differentiation and survival of epithelial cells and play a significant role in the development and progression of cancers derived from these tissues. In malignant cells, these receptors and their downstream signalling pathways are often deregulated, leading to cell hyper-proliferation, enhanced cell survival and increased metastatic potential. Furthermore, endothelial expressed RTKs regulate tumor angiogenesis allowing for tumor growth and maintenance by promoting their vascularization. Epithelial malignancies such as squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), non-small cell lung (NSCLC) and malignant mesotheliomas have very limited treatment options when presenting as metastatic disease. RTKs, particularly the epidermal growth factor (EGFR) and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFR) receptors, have been shown to play significant roles in the pathogenesis of these tumor types. Statins are potent inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase, the rate limiting enzyme of the mevalonate pathway, that are widely used as hypercholesterolemia treatments. The mevalonate pathway produces a variety of end products that are critical for many different cellular pathways, thus, targeting this pathway can affect multiple signalling pathways. Our laboratory has previously shown that lovastatin can induce tumor specific apoptosis especially in SCC and that 23% of recurrent SCC patients treated with lovastatin as a single agent showed disease stabilization in our Phase I clinical trial. Subsequently, our lab was able to demonstrate that lovastatin in combination with gefitinib, a potent inhibitor of the EGFR showed co-operative cytotoxicity when combined (Chapter 2). Furthermore, the pro-apoptotic and cytotoxic effects of these agents were found to be synergistic and to be manifested in several types of tumor cell lines including SCC, NSCLC and glioblastoma. I was able to expand upon these important findings and demonstrated that lovastatin, through its ability to disrupt the actin cytoskeleton, inhibited EGFR dimerization and activation (Chapter 3). This novel mechanism targeting this receptor has clinical implications as lovastatin treatment combined with gefitinib showed co-operative inhibitory effects on EGFR activation and downstream signalling. The RTK family of proteins share similar features with respect to activation, internalization and downstream signalling effectors. I further demonstrated that lovastatin can inhibit the VEGFR-2 in endothelial cells and mesotheliomas, where VEGF and its receptor are co-expressed driving their proliferation, and induces synergistic cytotoxicity in mesothelioma cells in combination with VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Chapter 4). These findings suggest that statins may augment the effects of a variety of RTK inhibitors in a similar fashion representing a novel combinational therapeutic approach in a wide repertoire of human cancers. More importantly, based on this work, we initiated a Phase I/II study evaluating high dose rosuvastatin and the EGFR inhibitor tarceva in SCC and NSCLC patients at our institute. This clinical evaluation will provide invaluable data that will play a role in developing this novel therapeutic strategy. Together, the work embodied in this thesis provides a model for the regulation of EGFR/VEGFR-2 activation and signalling by targeting the rho family of proteins that demonstrates a novel mechanism that can be exploited to refine current therapeutic paradigms.

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) are key regulators of growth, differentiation and survival of epithelial cells and play a significant role in the development and progression of cancers derived from these tissues. In malignant cells, these receptors and their downstream signalling pathways are often deregulated, leading to cell hyper-proliferation, enhanced cell survival and increased metastatic potential. Furthermore, endothelial expressed RTKs regulate tumor angiogenesis allowing for tumor growth and maintenance by promoting their vascularization. Epithelial malignancies such as squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), non-small cell lung (NSCLC) and malignant mesotheliomas have very limited treatment options when presenting as metastatic disease. RTKs, particularly the epidermal growth factor (EGFR) and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFR) receptors, have been shown to play significant roles in the pathogenesis of these tumor types. Statins are potent inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase, the rate limiting enzyme of the mevalonate pathway, that are widely used as hypercholesterolemia treatments. The mevalonate pathway produces a variety of end products that are critical for many different cellular pathways, thus, targeting this pathway can affect multiple signalling pathways. Our laboratory has previously shown that lovastatin can induce tumor specific apoptosis especially in SCC and that 23% of recurrent SCC patients treated with lovastatin as a single agent showed disease stabilization in our Phase I clinical trial. Subsequently, our lab was able to demonstrate that lovastatin in combination with gefitinib, a potent inhibitor of the EGFR showed co-operative cytotoxicity when combined (Chapter 2). Furthermore, the pro-apoptotic and cytotoxic effects of these agents were found to be synergistic and to be manifested in several types of tumor cell lines including SCC, NSCLC and glioblastoma. I was able to expand upon these important findings and demonstrated that lovastatin, through its ability to disrupt the actin cytoskeleton, inhibited EGFR dimerization and activation (Chapter 3). This novel mechanism targeting this receptor has clinical implications as lovastatin treatment combined with gefitinib showed co-operative inhibitory effects on EGFR activation and downstream signalling. The RTK family of proteins share similar features with respect to activation, internalization and downstream signalling effectors. I further demonstrated that lovastatin can inhibit the VEGFR-2 in endothelial cells and mesotheliomas, where VEGF and its receptor are co-expressed driving their proliferation, and induces synergistic cytotoxicity in mesothelioma cells in combination with VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Chapter 4). These findings suggest that statins may augment the effects of a variety of RTK inhibitors in a similar fashion representing a novel combinational therapeutic approach in a wide repertoire of human cancers. More importantly, based on this work, we initiated a Phase I/II study evaluating high dose rosuvastatin and the EGFR inhibitor tarceva in SCC and NSCLC patients at our institute. This clinical evaluation will provide invaluable data that will play a role in developing this novel therapeutic strategy. Together, the work embodied in this thesis provides a model for the regulation of EGFR/VEGFR-2 activation and signalling by targeting the rho family of proteins that demonstrates a novel mechanism that can be exploited to refine current therapeutic paradigms.

Preeclampsia results from incomplete trophoblast invasion of the spiral arteries during early pregnancy. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) are critical factors involved in angiogenesis, invasion and hemostasis at the maternal-fetal interface. Both factors are transcriptionally regulated by hypoxia inducible factor (HIF), a heterodimeric complex consisting of HIF-1[beta] and either HIF-1[alpha] or -2[alpha] whose specificity or redundancy in gene regulation is cell-type specific. This study uses siRNA technology to dissect the mechanisms of hypoxia-mediated regulation of PAI-1 and VEGF expression in first trimester trophoblasts. Immortalized first trimester human extravillous trophoblasts (HTR8/SVneo cells) were maintained in serum-free and serum-containing media for 4h (n=3-4), 8h (n=6), 24h (n=5) and 48h (n=5) under normoxic (21% O2) and hypoxic (1-2% O2) conditions to determine a time of maximum induction of both VEGF and PAI-1. Subsequently, cells were maintained for 48h in the presence or absence of siRNA for HIF-1[alpha], HIF-2[alpha], HIF-1[alpha] + -2[alpha], a non-targeting (NT) sequence or Cyclophilin B (CB). Media were then removed, cells lysed, and Western blotting used to assess HIF-[alpha] knockdown. VEGF and PAI-1 levels in the media were quantified by ELISA and results expressed as pg or ng/[micro]g protein. Results from 3 to 8 independent experiments were analyzed using unpaired t-tests. Under hypoxic conditions treatment of cells with HIF-1[alpha], HIF-2[alpha] or HIF -1[alpha] + -2[alpha] siRNA resulted in >90% HIF-Ñ protein knockdown as determined by Western blotting. 48h of hypoxic treatment caused a statistically significant increase in PAI-1 levels (p<0.01) and VEGF levels (p<0.001) compared to normoxic controls. Under hypoxic conditions, PAI-1 levels were 4.75 [plus-minus] 0.46 ng/[micro]g protein and VEGF levels were 7.27 [plus-minus] 1.08 pg/[micro]g protein. Treatment with siRNA to HIF-1[alpha], HIF-2[alpha] and HIF-1[alpha] + -2[alpha] significantly reduced PAI-1 levels to 3.3 [plus-minus] 0.35 (p<0.02), 3.1 [plus-minus] 0.38 (p<0.03) and 2.4 [plus-minus] 0.19 (p<0.003), respectively. No significant difference in PAI-1 reduction was noted between the three HIF siRNA conditions. Under hypoxic conditions, levels of VEGF in cells treated with siRNA to HIF-1[alpha] (5.79 [plus-minus] 0.55), HIF-2[alpha] (5.50 [plus-minus] 1.24) and HIF-1[alpha] + -2[alpha] (4.24 [plus-minus] 0.93) were reduced compared to the hypoxic control (7.27 [plus-minus] 1.08), yet these effects did not reach statistical significance. However, when compared with the levels observed in cells treated with NT siRNA (9.90 [plus-minus] .98), all HIF siRNA treatments promoted a significant reduction in VEGF expression (p<0.003, p<0.02 and p<0.003 for HIF-1[alpha], HIF-2[alpha] and HIF-1[alpha]+ -2[alpha], respectively). In conclusion, these results indicate that hypoxia-mediated changes in PAI-1 and VEGF expression in trophoblasts are regulated similarly by both HIF-1[alpha] and HIF-2[alpha]. This provides important insight into the molecular mechanisms regulating hemostasis and trophoblast invasion as well as their potential dysfunction in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2008. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

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