Egr-1 upregulates Siva-1 expression and induces cardiac fibroblast apoptosis.

The early growth response transcription factor Egr-1 controls cell specific responses to proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Expression of Egr-1 and downstream transcription is closely controlled and cell specific upregulation induced by processes such as hypoxia and ischemia has been previously linked to multiple aspects of cardiovascular injury. In this study, we showed constitutive expression of Egr-1 in cultured human ventricular cardiac fibroblasts, used adenoviral mediated gene transfer to study the effects of continuous Egr-1 overexpression and studied downstream transcription by Western blotting, immunohistochemistry and siRNA transfection. Apoptosis was assessed by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry in the presence of caspase inhibitors. Overexpression of Egr-1 directly induced apoptosis associated with caspase activation in human cardiac fibroblast cultures in vitro assessed by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Apoptotic induction was associated with a caspase activation associated loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and transient downstream transcriptional up-regulation of the pro-apoptotic gene product Siva-1. Suppression of Siva-1 induction by siRNA partially reversed Egr-1 mediated loss of cell viability. These findings suggest a previously unknown role for Egr-1 and transcriptional regulation of Siva-1 in the control of cardiac accessory cell death.

Sustained expression of early growth response protein-1 blocks angiogenesis and tumor growth.

Transient induction of the transcription factor early growth response protein-1 (EGR-1) plays a pivotal role in the transcriptional response of endothelial cells to the angiogenic growth factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), which are produced by most tumors and are involved in the angiogenic switch. We report here that sustained expression of EGR-1 by recombinant adenoviruses in endothelial cells, however, leads to the specific induction of potent feedback inhibitory mechanisms, including strong up-regulation of transcriptional repressors, negative cell cycle check point effectors, proteins with established antiangiogenic activity, and several proapoptotic genes. Sustained EGR-1 expression consistently leads to an antiangiogenic state characterized by an altered responsiveness to VEGF and bFGF and a striking inhibition of sprouting and tubule formation in vitro. Furthermore, EGR-1-expressing viruses potently inhibit cell invasion and vessel formation in the murine Matrigel model and repress tumor growth in a murine fibrosarcoma model. We propose that gene therapy involving sustained EGR-1 expression may constitute a novel therapeutic principle in the treatment of cancer due to the simultaneous induction of multiple pathways of antiangiogenesis, growth arrest, and apoptosis induction in proliferating cells leading to preferential inhibition of angiogenesis and tumor growth.

Signals and genes induced by angiogenic growth factors in comparison to inflammatory cytokines in endothelial cells.

The evaluation of signaling pathways leading to gene induction by VEGF-A and IL-1 in endothelial cells supports the importance of the NF-kappaB pathway for the IL-1-induced gene repertoire, whereas VEGF-A is a strong and preferential trigger of signals via PLC-gamma. This leads (i) via Ca(++) to the activation of calcineurin and NFAT and (ii) via PKC and the MEK/ERK MAPK pathway to the upregulation of EGR-1. Part of the VEGF-triggered gene induction depends on a cooperation of the transcription factors NFAT and EGR-1. Gene activation via PLC-gamma provides VEGF with the potency to induce a wide spectrum of genes including many also upregulated by IL-1. A gene upregulated by VEGF and IL-1 is the DSCR-1 gene, which encodes an inhibitor of calcineurin. DSCR1 is induced by NFAT or NF-kappaB and limits Ca(++) signaling in a negative feed-back loop. Similarly, NAB2, a corepressor of EGR-1, is induced by EGR-1 and limits EGR-1 effects. Adenoviral overexpression of DSCR1 or NAB2 inhibited part of VEGF-induced gene expression and reduced sprouting in angiogenesis models.

Expression of angiopoietic factors in normal and type-I diabetes human placenta: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: Morphological changes of blood vessel wall have been described in placenta from pregnancies complicated by diabetes mellitus type-I. STUDY DESIGN: We measured mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin 1 and 2 (Ang-1 and Ang-2), their receptors VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, Tie-2, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), and its receptor FGF-2R in placental tissue of diabetes type-I patients, in normal term placenta, and endometrium of non-pregnant women by real time reverse transcriptase PCR. RESULTS: The expression of Ang-2 and VEGFR-1 mRNAs was significantly higher in placenta (P

Expression of genes regulating angiogenesis in human circulating hematopoietic cord blood CD34+/CD133+ cells.

OBJECTIVES: Human CD34+ cells represent a heterogeneous population of immature cells which may differentiate to various cell types. The aim of the study was to determine angiogenesis regulating genes expression in CD34+ cells, their subpopulations, and during their differentiation induced by hematopoietic growth factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We have measured the expression of angiogenesis regulating genes angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), angiopoietin-1 (Ang-2) and their receptor Tie-2, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 in sorted population of CD34+ and CD34+/CD133+ cells from human cord blood and bone marrow, and in their differentiating progeny, using real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The hematopoietic differentiation of CD34+ cells was induced in semisolid or liquid differentiation supporting media containing appropriate hematopoietic growth factors. RESULTS: A higher expression of Ang-1, Ang-2, and Tie-2 mRNAs was detected in CD34+/CD133+ cord blood cells as compared with CD34-/CD133- fraction, but no expression of these genes was detected in burst-forming unit erythroid (BFU-E) nor colony-forming unit granulocyte macrophage (CFU-GM) colonies. The level of Ang-1 and Tie-2 mRNAs, but not that of Ang-2 mRNA gradually decreased during a 14-d incubation of cord blood CD34+ cells in a liquid culture. A significantly higher expression of VEGF mRNA was in BFU-E as compared with CFU-GM cell colonies and CD34+/CD133+ cells. VEGFR-1 mRNA was equally expressed in CD34+/CD133+ and CD34-/CD133- cells as well as in BFU-E and CFU-GM colonies. Expression of VEGFR-2 mRNA was detected at the borderline of method sensitivity only in CD34+/CD133+ cells. CONCLUSION: CD34+/CD133+ cord blood cells express Ang-1, Ang-2 and VEGF as well as their receptor mRNAs, suggesting a role of these cells in regulation both angiopoiesis and hematopoiesis.