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Despite major advances in molecular profiling and classification of primary brain tumors, personalized treatment remains limited for most patients. Here, we explored the feasibility of individual molecular profiling and the efficacy of biomarker-guided therapy for adult patients with primary brain cancers in the real-world setting within the molecular tumor board Freiburg, Germany. We analyzed genetic profiles, personalized treatment recommendations, and clinical outcomes of 102 patients with 21 brain tumor types. Alterations in the cell cycle, BRAF, and mTOR pathways most frequently led to personalized treatment recommendations. Molecularly informed therapies were recommended in 71% and implemented in 32% of patients with completed molecular diagnostics. The disease control rate following targeted treatment was 50% and the overall response rate was 30%, with a progression-free survival 2/1 ratio of at least 1.3 in 31% of patients. This study highlights the efficacy of molecularly guided treatment and the need for biomarker-stratified trials in brain cancers.
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There was a typo in the third author's name in the initial online publication.
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INTRODUCTION: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults with peak incidence in patients older than 65 years. These patients are mostly underrepresented in clinical trials and often undertreated due to concomitant diseases. Recently, different therapeutic approaches for elderly patients with GBM were discussed. To date, there is no defined standard treatment. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the functional and oncological outcome in surgical treatment of elderly patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 342 elderly patients aged ≥ 65 years were retrospectively analyzed in our neurosurgical center. Surgical therapy, adjuvant treatment, overall survival (OS) and functional outcome using Karnofsky performance scale (KPS) and Neurological assessment of neuro-oncology-score were analyzed. RESULTS: The median age at GBM diagnosis was 73.4 (IQR 9.28) years. Median overall survival was 7.5 (CI 95% 6.0-9.1) months and median preoperative or postoperative KPS was 80 (IQR 20). Surgical resection was performed in 216 (63.2%) patients, in 125 patients (36.5%) patients a stereotactic biopsy was performed. The median OS was significantly higher in patients with gross total resection (GTR) compared to partial resection and biopsy (10.8 months; CI 95% 9.5-12.3). Patients with combined radio- and chemo-therapy (RCT) showed significant longer OS, particularly MGMT-negative GBM. Higher preoperative KPS was found to be associated with improved overall survival. CONCLUSION: GTR and adjuvant combined RCT provides benefits for overall survival in elderly patients. Therapy decision should be made in regard to preoperative functional status instead of biological age.
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Neoplasias Encefálicas/cirugía , Glioblastoma/cirugía , Anciano , Neoplasias Encefálicas/metabolismo , Neoplasias Encefálicas/mortalidad , Terapia Combinada , Metilación de ADN , Metilasas de Modificación del ADN/genética , Metilasas de Modificación del ADN/metabolismo , Enzimas Reparadoras del ADN/genética , Enzimas Reparadoras del ADN/metabolismo , Glioblastoma/metabolismo , Glioblastoma/mortalidad , Humanos , Estado de Ejecución de Karnofsky , Procedimientos Neuroquirúrgicos , Estudios Retrospectivos , Factores de Tiempo , Proteínas Supresoras de Tumor/genética , Proteínas Supresoras de Tumor/metabolismoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Glioblastomas are highly vascularized tumors with a prominent infiltration of macrophages/microglia whose role in promoting glioma growth, invasion, and angiogenesis has not been fully elucidated. METHODS: The contribution of myeloid-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to glioma growth was analyzed in vivo in a syngeneic intracranial GL261 glioma model using a Cre/loxP system to knock out the expression of VEGF-A in CD11b + myeloid cells. Changes in angiogenesis-related gene expression profile were analyzed in mutant bone marrow-derived (BMD) macrophages in vitro. Furthermore, we studied the influence of macrophages on GL261 growth, invasiveness, and protein expression profile of angiogenic molecules as well as the paracrine effect of mutant macrophages on angiogenesis in vitro. RESULTS: Myeloid cell-restricted VEGF-A deficiency leads to a growth delay of intracranial tumors and prolonged survival. The tumor vasculature in mutant mice was more regular, with increased pericyte coverage. Expression analysis revealed significant downregulation of VEGF-A and slight upregulation of TGFß-1 in BMD macrophages from mutant mice. Endothelial tube formation was significantly decreased by conditioned media from mutant macrophages. The expression of angiogenesis-related proteins in GL261 glioma cells in co-culture experiments either with wild-type or mutant macrophages remained unchanged, indicating that effects observed in vivo are due to myeloid-derived VEGF-A deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the importance of VEGF derived from tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells for initiating vascularization in gliomas. The combination of antiangiogenic agents with myeloid cell-targeting strategies might provide a new therapeutic approach for glioblastoma patients.
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Neoplasias Encefálicas/metabolismo , Glioma/metabolismo , Células Mieloides/metabolismo , Factor A de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/metabolismo , Animales , Neoplasias Encefálicas/irrigación sanguínea , Neoplasias Encefálicas/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Encefálicas/patología , Línea Celular Tumoral , Técnicas de Cocultivo , Glioma/irrigación sanguínea , Glioma/diagnóstico , Glioma/patología , Macrófagos/metabolismo , Ratones Transgénicos , Microglía/metabolismo , Microglía/patología , Neovascularización Patológica/patologíaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: A major hallmark of malignant progression in human astrocytomas is the formation of new blood vessels. Antiangiogenic therapy using the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-antibody bevacizumab leads to increased progression-free survival in glioblastoma patients but does not influence their overall survival. To date, it is unclear why antiangiogenic therapy fails in many glioblastoma patients, while a small subpopulation profits considerably from this treatment. METHODS: The aim of our study was to determine the expression of VEGF-A and its (co-) receptors by immunohistochemistry and to test the association with patient survival in 350 glioma patients. Additionally, VEGF-A expression was analyzed by in-situ hybridization. In 18 patients, the protein expression was compared with the bevacizumab response according to extended and modified RANO criteria. RESULTS: We found a heterogeneous expression pattern of VEGF and its receptors in glioblastoma patients with significantly lower levels in WHO grade II and III tumors and normal-appearing brain tissue (P < .001). Pilocytic astrocytomas (WHO grade I) showed significantly higher VEGFR-1, -2 and neuropilin-1 levels as compared to WHO grade II and III astrocytomas (P < .01) but at lower levels than glioblastomas. The expression of neuropilin-2 was low in all tumors. There was neither a significant correlation between protein expression and patient survival nor between protein levels and bevacizumab response after modified RANO criteria. CONCLUSION: Since our data indicate that beneficial response to bevacizumab treatment is independent of the expression of VEGF-A and its (co-) receptors, further investigation is needed to decipher the underlying mechanisms of antiangiogenic treatment response.
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Astrocitoma/tratamiento farmacológico , Bevacizumab/uso terapéutico , Neoplasias Encefálicas/tratamiento farmacológico , Neuropilina-1/metabolismo , Neuropilina-2/metabolismo , Receptores de Factores de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/metabolismo , Factor A de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/metabolismo , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Inhibidores de la Angiogénesis/uso terapéutico , Astrocitoma/metabolismo , Astrocitoma/patología , Biomarcadores de Tumor/metabolismo , Neoplasias Encefálicas/metabolismo , Neoplasias Encefálicas/patología , Niño , Preescolar , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Técnicas para Inmunoenzimas , Lactante , Recién Nacido , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Clasificación del Tumor , Estadificación de Neoplasias , Pronóstico , Tasa de Supervivencia , Factor A de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/antagonistas & inhibidores , Receptor 1 de Factores de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/metabolismo , Receptor 2 de Factores de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/metabolismo , Receptor 3 de Factores de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/metabolismo , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) of high grade gliomas (HGG) can lead to devastating disease courses. Understanding of risk factors for LM is important to identify patients at risk. We reviewed patient records and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of all patients with a first diagnosis of HGG who underwent surgery in our institution between 2008 and 2012. To assess the influence of potential risk factors for LM and the impact of LM on survival multivariate statistics were performed. 239 patients with a diagnosis of HGG and at least 6 months of MRI and clinical follow-up were included. LM occurred in 27 (11%) patients and was symptomatic in 17 (65%). A strong correlation of surgical entry to the ventricle and LM was found (HR: 8.1). Ventricular entry was documented in 137 patients (57%) and LM ensued in 25 (18%) of these. Only two (2%) of 102 patients without ventricular entry developed LM. Median overall survival of patients after diagnosis of LM (239 days) was significantly shorter compared to patients without LM (626 days). LM is a frequent complication in the course of disease of HGG and is associated with poor survival. Surgical entry to the ventricle is a key risk factor for LM.
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Ventrículos Cerebrales/cirugía , Glioma/cirugía , Neoplasias Meníngeas/patología , Procedimientos Quirúrgicos Vasculares/efectos adversos , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Ventriculografía Cerebral , Femenino , Glioma/complicaciones , Glioma/diagnóstico por imagen , Glioma/patología , Humanos , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Masculino , Neoplasias Meníngeas/diagnóstico por imagen , Neoplasias Meníngeas/etiología , Neoplasias Meníngeas/secundario , Persona de Mediana Edad , Metástasis de la Neoplasia , Pronóstico , Factores de RiesgoRESUMEN
Cancer stem cells (CSC) drive tumorigenesis and contribute to genotoxic therapy resistance, diffuse infiltrative invasion, and immunosuppression, which are key factors for the incurability of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The AC133 epitope of CD133 is an important CSC marker for GBM and other tumor entities. Here, we report the development and preclinical evaluation of a recombinant AC133×CD3 bispecific antibody (bsAb) that redirects human polyclonal T cells to AC133(+) GBM stem cells (GBM-SC), inducing their strong targeted lysis. This novel bsAb prevented the outgrowth of AC133-positive subcutaneous GBM xenografts. Moreover, upon intracerebral infusion along with the local application of human CD8(+) T cells, it exhibited potent activity in prophylactic and treatment models of orthotopic GBM-SC-derived invasive brain tumors. In contrast, normal hematopoietic stem cells, some of which are AC133-positive, were virtually unaffected at bsAb concentrations effective against GBM-SCs and retained their colony-forming abilities. In conclusion, our data demonstrate the high activity of this new bsAb against patient-derived AC133-positive GBM-SCs in models of local therapy of highly invasive GBM.
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Anticuerpos Biespecíficos/uso terapéutico , Antígenos CD/inmunología , Glioblastoma/terapia , Glicoproteínas/inmunología , Células Madre Neoplásicas/inmunología , Péptidos/inmunología , Antígeno AC133 , Anticuerpos Biespecíficos/inmunología , Antígenos CD/uso terapéutico , Linfocitos T CD8-positivos/inmunología , Linfocitos T CD8-positivos/patología , Carcinogénesis/inmunología , Tratamiento Basado en Trasplante de Células y Tejidos/métodos , Epítopos/inmunología , Glioblastoma/inmunología , Glioblastoma/patología , Glicoproteínas/uso terapéutico , Humanos , Inmunoterapia/métodos , Células Madre Neoplásicas/patología , Péptidos/uso terapéuticoRESUMEN
Placenta growth factor (PlGF) is a member of vascular endothelial growth factor family which can promote cancer growth by various mechanisms. Placenta growth factor is upregulated in many neoplastic diseases and serum levels of PlGF are increased in cancer patients following anti-angiogenic therapy. However, its role in glioma growth is yet not fully elucidated. In this study we analyzed the expression of PlGF mRNA using real time PCR in human gliomas of different WHO grades. Placenta growth factor mRNA levels were highly variable and did not correlate with WHO grades, arguing against a significant role in glioma progression. The highest PlGF expression was observed in anaplastic astrocytomas whereas grade II astrocytomas and glioblastomas displayed lower levels of expression. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that PlGF was expressed by inflammatory and endothelial cells in addition to tumor cells. Placenta growth factor mRNA expression in 12 matched glioblastoma samples before and after therapy, including bevacizumab and cilengitide treatment was largely unaffected by the aforementioned treatment modalities. In vitro, the exposure of VEGFR-1 expressing glioma cells to bevacizumab did not increase the expression levels of PlGF mRNA. In summary, our results do not support the hypothesis that PlGF plays a major role in the resistance of gliomas after anti-angiogenic therapy.
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Inhibidores de la Angiogénesis/uso terapéutico , Neoplasias Encefálicas/tratamiento farmacológico , Resistencia a Antineoplásicos/fisiología , Glioma/tratamiento farmacológico , Proteínas Gestacionales/metabolismo , Adulto , Anciano , Anticuerpos Monoclonales Humanizados/uso terapéutico , Bevacizumab , Biomarcadores de Tumor/metabolismo , Encéfalo/efectos de los fármacos , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Encéfalo/patología , Encéfalo/cirugía , Neoplasias Encefálicas/metabolismo , Neoplasias Encefálicas/patología , Neoplasias Encefálicas/cirugía , Línea Celular Tumoral , Células Endoteliales/efectos de los fármacos , Células Endoteliales/metabolismo , Células Endoteliales/patología , Glioma/metabolismo , Glioma/patología , Glioma/cirugía , Humanos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Clasificación del Tumor , Factor de Crecimiento Placentario , Pronóstico , ARN Mensajero/metabolismo , Estudios Retrospectivos , Venenos de Serpiente/uso terapéutico , Receptor 1 de Factores de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/metabolismoRESUMEN
The generation of bone marrow chimera in mice is a valuable tool to study a variety of cellular processes. Donor bone marrow cells expressing reporter genes have been used to study the process of cell differentiation and the mechanisms involved in bone marrow cell recruitment. Bone marrow cells bearing genetic manipulation have been used in bone marrow chimeras to elucidate the role of molecules in different physiological and pathological settings. Since in the normal adult brain angiogenesis does not occur, models of brain injury like ischemia and tumor growth have been used to study the contribution of bone marrow-derived cells to the cerebral vasculature. This chapter describes the procedures to perform bone marrow transplantation in order to study the contribution of bone marrow-derived cells to vascularization in an orthotopic glioma model.
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Células Madre Hematopoyéticas/fisiología , Neovascularización Patológica/patología , Animales , Células de la Médula Ósea/fisiología , Trasplante de Médula Ósea , Neoplasias Encefálicas/irrigación sanguínea , Circulación Cerebrovascular , Quimera , Glioma/irrigación sanguínea , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Ratones Transgénicos , Trasplante de NeoplasiasRESUMEN
A technology that visualizes tumor stem cells with clinically relevant tracers could have a broad impact on cancer diagnosis and treatment. The AC133 epitope of CD133 currently is one of the best-characterized tumor stem cell markers for many intra- and extracranial tumor entities. Here we demonstrate the successful noninvasive detection of AC133(+) tumor stem cells by PET and near-infrared fluorescence molecular tomography in subcutaneous and orthotopic glioma xenografts using antibody-based tracers. Particularly, microPET with (64)Cu-NOTA-AC133 mAb yielded high-quality images with outstanding tumor-to-background contrast, clearly delineating subcutaneous tumor stem cell-derived xenografts from surrounding tissues. Intracerebral tumors as small as 2-3 mm also were clearly discernible, and the microPET images reflected the invasive growth pattern of orthotopic cancer stem cell-derived tumors with low density of AC133(+) cells. These data provide a basis for further preclinical and clinical use of the developed tracers for high-sensitivity and high-resolution monitoring of AC133(+) tumor stem cells.
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Antígenos CD/inmunología , Glicoproteínas/inmunología , Células Madre Neoplásicas/inmunología , Péptidos/inmunología , Tomografía de Emisión de Positrones/métodos , Antígeno AC133 , Animales , Neoplasias Encefálicas/diagnóstico por imagen , Fluorescencia , Glioblastoma/diagnóstico por imagen , Xenoinjertos , Ratones , Imagen Multimodal , Tomografía Computarizada por Rayos XRESUMEN
Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR-1) is highly expressed in endothelial cells and regulates developmental angiogenesis by acting as a decoy receptor and trapping VEGF-A. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 is also expressed in monocytes and macrophages; mice lacking the VEGFR-1 tyrosine kinase (TK) domain (VEGFR-1 TK mice) display impaired macrophage function. Because macrophages are recruited to sites of cerebral ischemic infarcts, we hypothesized that lack of VEGFR-1 TK in bone marrow(BM) cells would affect the outcome in an experimental stroke model. We performed BM transplantation experiments in C57BL/6J mice using VEGFR-1 TK and VEGFR-1 TK mice as BM donors and analyzed cell infiltration after cerebral ischemia. There was reduced initial recruitment of VEGFR-1 TK myeloid cells into the infarcted tissue and reduced postischemic angiogenesis at 3days postischemia. By 10 days, the numbers of infiltrating cells and the densities of vessels in the infarct peri-infarct zone were similar for both groups. Neither infarct size at 3 and 10 days postischemia nor neurological performance at 24 hours was different between the experimental groups. These results support a role of VEGFR-1 signaling in the early regulation of BM infiltration and angiogenesis after brain ischemia.
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Trasplante de Médula Ósea , Infarto Cerebral/cirugía , Macrófagos , Microglía , Transducción de Señal , Receptor 1 de Factores de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/metabolismo , Animales , Células de la Médula Ósea/citología , Isquemia Encefálica/complicaciones , Diferenciación Celular , Células Cultivadas , Infarto Cerebral/etiología , Infarto Cerebral/metabolismo , Infarto Cerebral/patología , Inmunohistoquímica , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Ratones Noqueados , Ratones Transgénicos , Receptor 1 de Factores de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/deficienciaRESUMEN
Despite extensive research, the contribution of bone-marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (BM-EPC) to tumor angiogenesis remains controversial. In previous publications, the extent of incorporation of BM-EPCs into the endothelial cell (EC) layer in different tumor models has been reported as significant in some studies but undetectable in others. Here, we studied the differentiation of BM-EPCs and its contribution to tumor vessels in experimental and spontaneous lung metastasis (B16 melanoma and prostate carcinoma), in an autochthonous transgenic model of prostate tumorigenesis, in orthotopically implanted lung tumors [Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC)], in heterotopic subcutaneous models (LLC and C1 prostate carcinoma) growing in green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing bone marrow (BM) chimeras. Immunofluorescence was performed with a set of endothelial and hematopoietic markers and confocal microscopy was used to generate 3D reconstruction images. By performing rigorously conducted morphological studies, we found no evidence of BM-EPCs differentiation into tumor endothelium independently of tumor type, grade and organ site in primary and metastatic tumors. The vast majority of GFP(+) cells were trafficking leucocytes or periendothelial myeloid cells. To explore the possibility that local overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) might increase the numbers of incorporated BM-EPCs, we analyzed tumors genetically manipulated to overexpress VEGF(164). Local VEGF production induces a massive infiltration of bone-marrow-derived cells, but did not lead to vessel wall integration of these cells. Collectively, these findings suggest that during tumor progression vascularization occurs primarily via classical tumor angiogenesis (e.g., sprouting of pre-existing ECs), whereas BM-EPCs do not incorporate into the vessel wall to any significant extent.
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Carcinoma Pulmonar de Lewis/patología , Endotelio Vascular/patología , Neoplasias Pulmonares/secundario , Melanoma Experimental/patología , Neoplasias de la Próstata/patología , Células Madre/patología , Animales , Médula Ósea/patología , Trasplante de Médula Ósea , Humanos , Técnicas para Inmunoenzimas , Neoplasias Pulmonares/terapia , Masculino , Melanoma Experimental/terapia , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Neoplasias de la Próstata/terapia , Factor A de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/metabolismoRESUMEN
Angiogenesis, the sprouting of new blood vessels from preexisting blood vessels, is a hallmark of glioma progression. Malignant gliomas are among the most lethal tumors with a very dismal prognosis, despite advances in standard therapy, including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The median survival of patients with malignant gliomas has changed little in the last few years and is still measured in months. In an attempt to develop new therapeutic strategies and identify the molecular mechanism involved in glioma growth and progression, there has been extraordinary scientific interest in the past 2 decades in angiogenic responses associated with gliomas. This chapter focuses on the molecular mechanism of glioma angiogenesis and summarizes some of the therapeutic approaches based on antiangiogenesis.
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Glioma/irrigación sanguínea , Neovascularización Patológica/terapia , Proteínas Adaptadoras Transductoras de Señales , Inhibidores de la Angiogénesis/uso terapéutico , Angiopoyetinas/fisiología , Proteínas de Unión al Calcio , Humanos , Péptidos y Proteínas de Señalización Intercelular/fisiología , Neovascularización Patológica/etiología , Receptores de Factores de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/antagonistas & inhibidores , Receptores de Factores de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/fisiología , Semaforinas/fisiología , Factor A de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/antagonistas & inhibidores , Factor A de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/fisiologíaRESUMEN
Several lines of evidence indicate that Flt-1, a fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor, which binds to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, VEGF-B, and PlGF, is a positive regulator of angiogenesis in the context of tumor growth and metastasis. However, the molecular basis of its action is still not clear. Besides endothelial cells, Flt-1 is also expressed by other different cell types, including myeloid hematopoeitic cells (monocytes and macrophages). To examine the functions of Flt-1 expressed by bone marrow-derived myeloid cells in supporting tumor growth and angiogenesis, Flt-1 tyrosine kinase-deficient (Flt-1 TK-/-) bone marrow cells were transplanted into lethally irradiated syngeneic recipients. After hematopoietic reconstitution, we orthotopically implanted syngeneic wild-type glioma cells or glioma cells overexpressing either VEGF(164) or PlGF-2. Loss of Flt-1 signaling in bone marrow-derived myeloid cells led to a significant decrease in tumor volume and vascularization in gliomas. VEGF but not PlGF overexpressed by glioma cells restored the tumor growth rate in Flt-1 TK-/- bone marrow chimera. VEGF and PlGF overexpression by tumor cells induced an accumulation of bone marrow-derived myeloid cells into tumor tissue. This infiltration was decreased in tumors grown in Flt-1 TK-/- bone marrow chimeras. When investigating chemokines and growth factors involved in myeloid cell recruitment, we determined elevated SDF-1/CXCL12 levels in VEGF- and PlGF-overexpressing tumors. Collectively, these results suggest that Flt-1 signaling in myeloid cells is essential to amplify the angiogenic response and to promote glioma growth.
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Glioma/enzimología , Glioma/patología , Macrófagos/enzimología , Receptor 1 de Factores de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/metabolismo , Animales , Células de la Médula Ósea/enzimología , Células de la Médula Ósea/patología , Permeabilidad Capilar/fisiología , Procesos de Crecimiento Celular/fisiología , Quimiocina CXCL12/biosíntesis , Quimera/metabolismo , Glioma/irrigación sanguínea , Glioma/metabolismo , Macrófagos/patología , Proteínas de la Membrana , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Ratones Transgénicos , Células Mieloides/patología , Neovascularización Patológica/enzimología , Neovascularización Patológica/metabolismo , Neovascularización Patológica/patología , Proteínas/genética , Proteínas/metabolismo , Transducción de Señal , Transfección , Factor A de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/biosíntesisRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Malignant gliomas are prominent targets for cancer gene therapy approaches because of their poor prognosis despite all available therapies. Endothelial cells (ECs) are considered attractive vehicles for cell-based gene therapy because of their tropism to the tumor vasculature. In this study, we investigated the potential of ECs to incorporate into glioma vessels after intra-arterial or local application to establish whether ECs can be used as cellular vectors for gene therapy in gliomas. METHODS: Immortalized rat brain endothelial cells (BECs) were modified to express either beta-galactosidase or green fluorescent protein (GFP). The ability of transduced BECs to integrate into tumor vessels after interstitial implantation was evaluated in C6 and 9L glioma models. The fate of GFP-BECs was investigated after selective intracarotid injection into C6 tumor-bearing animals. RESULTS: The interstitially grafted BECs organized themselves into vascular-like structures and integrated into the tumor vasculature. Transgene expression was limited to 10 days after injection. After selective intra-arterial injection, numerous GFP-BECs were adherent to the vascular lumen at least 7 days after injection. These cells were evenly distributed within small vessels and capillaries of the injected hemisphere and did not home selectively to the tumor vessels. CONCLUSION: Cell-based therapy approaches to brain tumor treatment using BECs as cellular vectors might be hampered by the rapid downregulation of transgene expression and by the fact that these cells do not home specifically to tumor vessels after intra-arterial injection. Nevertheless, locoregional administration of BECs might be an interesting approach for delivering molecules to brain tumors when short-term expression of transgene in the perivascular space is desirable.
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Neoplasias Encefálicas/terapia , Encéfalo/irrigación sanguínea , Células Endoteliales/trasplante , Terapia Genética/métodos , Glioma/terapia , Animales , Línea Celular Transformada , Línea Celular Tumoral , Proliferación Celular , Supervivencia Celular , Células Endoteliales/metabolismo , Células Endoteliales/fisiología , Estudios de Factibilidad , Expresión Génica , Proteínas Fluorescentes Verdes/genética , Proteínas Fluorescentes Verdes/metabolismo , Inyecciones Intraarteriales , Sustancias Luminiscentes/metabolismo , Trasplante de Neoplasias , Ratas , Ratas Endogámicas F344 , Ratas Sprague-Dawley , Transducción Genética , Transfección , TransgenesRESUMEN
The formation of new blood vessels plays an important role in human disease development and progression. For instance, it is well established that the growth of most cancers critically depends on the supply of nutrition and oxygen by newly recruited blood vessels. Similarly, malignant gliomas, the most common primary brain tumors occurring in humans are highly dependent on angiogenesis. In recent years, there has been tremendous effort to uncover the molecular mechanisms that drive blood vessel growth in adult tissues, especially during cancer progression. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and other morphogens, such as angiopoietins and ephrins have been shown to be critically involved in the formation of new blood vessels during both developmental and pathological angiogenesis as evidenced by genetic studies in mice. In this review, we focus on angiopoietins, a family of growth factor ligands binding to Tie tyrosine kinase receptors with emphasis on their functional consequences during the growth and progression of experimental tumors and malignant human gliomas.
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Angiopoyetinas/metabolismo , Neoplasias Encefálicas/irrigación sanguínea , Glioma/irrigación sanguínea , Neovascularización Patológica/fisiopatología , Animales , Neoplasias Encefálicas/patología , Glioma/patología , Humanos , Neovascularización Fisiológica/fisiologíaRESUMEN
Angiopoietins have been implicated in playing an important role in blood vessel formation, remodeling, maturation, and maintenance. However, the role of angiopoietins in tumor angiogenesis remains uncertain. In this study, expression of human angiopoietin-1 (hAng-1) and angiopoietin (hAng-2) was amplified in the rat glioma cell line GS9L by stable transfection using an inducible tet-off system. Transfected cells were implanted intracerebrally into syngenic Fischer 344 rats. We demonstrated by means of magnetic resonance imaging that increased hAng-1 expression promoted a significant in vivo growth of intracerebral gliomas in rats. Overexpression of hAng-1 resulted in more numerous, more highly branched vessels, which were covered by pericytes. On the other hand, tumors derived from hAng-2-overexpressing cells were smaller than empty-plasmid control tumors. The tumor vasculature in these tumors was composed of aberrant small vascular cords, which were associated with few mural cells. Our results indicate that in the presence of hAng-1, tumors induce a more functional vascular network, which led to better tumor perfusion and growth. On the other hand, overexpression of hAng-2 led to less intact tumor vessels, inhibited capillary sprouting, and impaired tumor growth.
Asunto(s)
Angiopoyetina 1/fisiología , Neoplasias Encefálicas/patología , Glioma/patología , Neovascularización Patológica , Animales , Apoptosis , Northern Blotting , Western Blotting , Encéfalo/patología , Capilares/patología , Línea Celular Tumoral , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Electroforesis en Gel de Poliacrilamida , Azul de Evans/farmacología , Técnica del Anticuerpo Fluorescente Indirecta , Vectores Genéticos , Hibridación in Situ , Etiquetado Corte-Fin in Situ , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Microscopía Confocal , Microscopía Fluorescente , Plásmidos/metabolismo , Ratas , Ratas Endogámicas F344 , Programas InformáticosRESUMEN
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the high-affinity VEGF receptor Flk-1/KDR (VEGFR-2) are key regulators of tumor angiogenesis. Strategies to block VEGF/VEGFR-2 signaling were successfully used to inhibit experimental tumor growth and indicated that VEGFR-2 is the main signaling VEGF receptor in proliferating tumor endothelium. Here, we investigated the role of the VEGF receptor-1 (VEGFR-1/Flt-1) in the vascularization of 2 different experimental tumors in vivo. VEGFR-1 mutants were generated that lack the intracellular tyrosine kinase domain. Retrovirus-mediated gene transfer of the VEGFR-1 mutants led to a strong reduction of tumor growth and angiogenesis in xenografted C6 glioma and in syngeneic BFS-1 fibrosarcoma. Histological analysis of the inhibited fibrosarcoma revealed reduced vascular density, decreased tumor cell proliferation as well as increased tumor cell apoptosis and the formation of necrosis. The retroviral gene transfer of the full length VEGFR-1 also caused a significant reduction of tumor growth in both models. The inhibitory effects of the VEGFR-1 mutants and the full length VEGFR-1 in BFS-1 fibrosarcoma were mediated through host tumor endothelial cells because the BFS-1 fibrosarcoma cells were not infected by the retrovirus. The formation of heterodimers between VEGFR-2 and full length or truncated VEGFR-1 was observed in vitro and might contribute to the growth inhibitory effect by modulating distinct signal transduction pathways. The results of our study underline the central role of the VEGF/VEGFR-1 signaling system in tumor angiogenesis and demonstrate that VEGFR-1 can serve as a target for anti-angiogenic gene therapy.
Asunto(s)
División Celular/genética , Receptor 1 de Factores de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/genética , Células 3T3 , Animales , Secuencia de Bases , Células COS , Línea Celular Tumoral , Chlorocebus aethiops , Clonación Molecular , Cartilla de ADN , Glioma , Humanos , Hibridación in Situ , Ratones , Mutagénesis , Neovascularización Patológica/prevención & control , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa , Transfección , Células Tumorales CultivadasRESUMEN
Transplanted bone marrow-derived (BM) cells have been shown to home into the tumor vessels of s.c. implanted tumor models and to functionally contribute to tumor neoangiogenesis and tumor growth. However, whether BM cells contribute to the vessels of in situ developing tumors remains unknown. We have taken advantage of the in situ generation of mammary tumors in transgenic mice carrying the polyoma virus middle T oncogene (MMTV-PyVT) to determine whether transplanted BM cells home to and incorporate into the intratumoral vessels. Unfractionated BM from lacZ+ROSA 26 mice was used to rescue irradiated MMTV-PyVT transgenic mice or their wild-type congenics. All transgenic mice were sacrificed when they developed easily palpable mammary tumors. BM cells recruited and incorporated into the vasculature were identified by coexpression of lacZ and CD31, evidence that these cells had a distinctive, elongated appearance and that they lined the vessel structures. We found that BM cells home to and incorporate into 1.3% of the vessels of all in situ generated mammary adenocarcinomas examined (n=8). In contrast, BM cells did not recruit into the vessels of colon or liver of the tumor-bearing mice. Whether these cells contribute to new vessel formation via vasculogenesis or angiogenesis or simply attach to, and integrate into, the growing tips or shafts of pre-existing vessels has to be determined. BM could be used as a vehicle for the specific transport of antiangiogenic signals into the tumor vascular bed.