Strategies to Enhance the Efficiency of Endothelial Progenitor Cell Therapy by Ephrin B2 Pretreatment and Coadministration with Smooth Muscle Progenitor Cells on Vascular Function During the Wound-Healing Process in Irradiated or Nonirradiated Condition.

Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) transplantation has beneficial effects for therapeutic neovascularization. We therefore assessed the effect of a therapeutic strategy based on EPC administration in the healing of radiation-induced damage. To improve cell therapy for clinical use, we used pretreatment with ephrin B2-Fc (Eph-B2-Fc) and/or coadministration with smooth muscle progenitor cells. At day 3, EPCs promoted dermal wound healing in both nonirradiated and irradiated mice by 1.2- and 1.15-fold, respectively, compared with animals injected with phosphate-buffered saline. In addition, EPCs also improved skin-blood perfusion and capillary density in both irradiated and nonirradiated mice compared with PBS-injected animals. We also demonstrated that activation with Eph-B2-Fc increased wound closure by 1.6-fold compared with unstimulated EPCs in nonirradiated mice. Interestingly, the beneficial effect of Eph-B2-Fc was abolished in irradiated animals. In addition, we found that Eph-B2-Fc stimulation did not improve EPC-induced vascular permeability or adhesiveness compared to unstimulated EPCs. We hypothesized that this effect was due to high oxidative stress during irradiation, leading to inhibition of EPCs' beneficial effect on vascular function. In this line, we demonstrated that, in irradiated conditions, N-acetyl-l-cysteine treatment restored the beneficial effect of EPC stimulation with Eph-B2-Fc in the wound healing process. In conclusion, stimulation by Eph-B2-Fc improved the beneficial effect of EPCs in physiological conditions and irradiated conditions only in association with antioxidant treatment. Additionally, cotherapy was beneficial in pathological conditions.

Neuropilin-1 is upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma and contributes to tumour growth and vascular remodelling.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) is a transmembrane co-receptor for semaphorins and heparin-binding pro-angiogenic cytokines, principally members of the vascular endothelial growth factor family. Recent studies revealed an important role of NRP1 in angiogenesis and malignant progression of many cancers. The role of NRP1 in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not completely understood. METHODS: We used human tissue microarrays and a mouse transgenic model of HCC to establish the spatio-temporal patterns of NRP1 expression in HCC. To evaluate the therapeutic potential of targeting NRP1 in HCC, we treated HCC mice with peptide N, an NRP1 binding recombinant protein and competitive inhibitor of the VEGF-A(165)/NRP1 interaction. RESULTS: We demonstrate that NRP1 is expressed in hepatic endothelial cells of both human healthy biopsies and in HCC samples, but not in normal hepatocytes. We found that increased NRP1 expression in human tumour hepatocytes is significantly associated with primary HCC. Using RT-PCR, Western blot and immunofluorescence analysis we show that NRP1 expression in the liver of transgenic HCC mice is increased with disease progression, in both vascular and tumour compartments. Blocking NRP1 function with peptide N leads to the inhibition of vascular remodelling and tumour liver growth in HCC mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate a specific role of NRP1 in HCC growth and vascular remodelling and highlight the possibility of therapeutically targeting NRP1 for the treatment of HCC.

Small interfering RNAs induce target-independent inhibition of tumor growth and vasculature remodeling in a mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma.

RNA interference mediated by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) has emerged as a potential therapeutic approach to treat various diseases, including cancer. Recent studies with several animal models of posttraumatic revascularization demonstrated that synthetic siRNAs may produce therapeutic effects in a target-independent manner through the stimulation of the toll-like receptor-3 (TLR3)/interferon pathway and suppression of angiogenesis. To analyze the impact of siRNAs on tumor angiogenesis, we injected transgenic mice developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with either control siRNAs or siRNA targeting neuropilin-1. We found that treatment with these siRNAs led to a comparable reduction in tumor liver volume and to inhibition of tumor vasculature remodeling. We further determined that TLR3, which recognizes double-stranded siRNA, was up-regulated in mouse HCC. Treatment of HCC mice with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)], a TLR3 agonist, led to both a reduction of tumor liver enlargement and a decrease in hepatic arterial blood flow, indicating that TLR3 is functional and may mediate both anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor responses. We also demonstrated that siRNAs increased interferon-γ levels in the liver. In vitro, interferon-γ inhibited proliferation of endothelial cells. In addition, we found that siRNAs inhibited endothelial cell proliferation and morphogenesis in an interferon-γ-independent manner. Our results suggest that synthetic siRNAs inhibit target-independently HCC growth and angiogenesis through the activation of the innate interferon response and by directly inhibiting endothelial cell function.

Further pharmacological and genetic evidence for the efficacy of PlGF inhibition in cancer and eye disease.

Our findings that PlGF is a cancer target and anti-PlGF is useful for anticancer treatment have been challenged by Bais et al. Here we take advantage of carcinogen-induced and transgenic tumor models as well as ocular neovascularization to report further evidence in support of our original findings of PlGF as a promising target for anticancer therapies. We present evidence for the efficacy of additional anti-PlGF antibodies and their ability to phenocopy genetic deficiency or silencing of PlGF in cancer and ocular disease but also show that not all anti-PlGF antibodies are effective. We also provide additional evidence for the specificity of our anti-PlGF antibody and experiments to suggest that anti-PlGF treatment will not be effective for all tumors and why. Further, we show that PlGF blockage inhibits vessel abnormalization rather than density in certain tumors while enhancing VEGF-targeted inhibition in ocular disease. Our findings warrant further testing of anti-PlGF therapies.

Cross-talk between the VEGF-A and HGF signalling pathways in endothelial cells.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Endothelial cells play a major role in angiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels arise from a pre-existing vascular bed. VEGF-A (vascular endothelial growth factor-A) is a key regulator of angiogenesis during both development and in adults. HGF (hepatocyte growth factor) is a pleiotropic cytokine that may promote VEGF-A-driven angiogenesis, although the signalling mechanisms underlying this co-operation are not completely understood. RESULTS: We analysed the effects of the combination of VEGF-A and HGF on the activation of VEGFR-2 (VEGF receptor-2) and c-met receptors, and on the stimulation of downstream signalling pathways in endothelial cells. We found that VEGFR-2 and c-met do not physically associate and do not transphosphorylate each other, suggesting that co-operation involves signalling events more distal from receptor activation. We demonstrate that the VEGF isoform VEGF-A(165) and HGF stimulate a similar set of MAPKs (mitogen-activated protein kinases), although the kinetics and strengths of the activation differ depending on the growth factor and pathway. An enhanced activation of the signalling was observed when endothelial cells were stimulated by the combination of VEGF-A(165) and HGF. Moreover, the combination of VEGF-A and HGF results in a statistically significant synergistic activation of ERK1/2 (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2) and p38 kinases. We demonstrated that VEGF-A(165) and HGF activate FAK (focal adhesion kinase) with different kinetics and stimulate the recruitment of phosphorylated FAK to different subsets of focal adhesions. VEGF-A(165) and HGF regulate distinct morphogenic aspects of the cytoskeletal remodelling that are associated with the preferential activation of Rho or Rac respectively, and induce structurally distinct vascular-like patterns in vitro in a Rho- or Rac-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: Under angiogenic conditions, combining VEGF-A with HGF can promote neovascularization by enhancing intracellular signalling and allowing more finely regulated control of the signalling molecules involved in the regulation of the cytoskeleton and cellular migration and morphogenesis.

Angiotensinogen delays angiogenesis and tumor growth of hepatocarcinoma in transgenic mice.

Angiotensinogen, a member of the serpin family, is involved in the suppression of tumor growth and metastasis. To investigate whether human angiotensinogen protects against tumor progression in vivo, we established an original bitransgenic model in which transgenic mice expressing human angiotensinogen (Hu-AGT-TG mice) were crossed with a transgenic mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC-TG mice). Bitransgenic mice overexpressing human angiotensinogen (HCC/Hu-AGT-TG) had a significantly longer survival time than the HCC-TG mice and a reduction of both tumor growth and blood flow velocities in the liver. This antitumor effect of angiotensinogen is related to a reduced angiogenesis, impaired expression of endothelial arterial markers (active Notch4, Delta-like 4 ligand, and ephrin B2) with a decrease of arterial vessel density in HCC/Hu-AGT-TG mice liver. Overexpression of human angiotensinogen decreases angiogenesis, and prevents tumor sinusoids from remodeling and arterialization, thus delaying tumor progression in vivo.

Coadministration of endothelial and smooth muscle progenitor cells enhances the efficiency of proangiogenic cell-based therapy.

Cell-based therapy is a promising approach designed to enhance neovascularization and function of ischemic tissues. Interaction between endothelial and smooth muscle cells regulates vessels development and remodeling and is required for the formation of a mature and functional vascular network. Therefore, we assessed whether coadministration of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and smooth muscle progenitor cells (SMPCs) can increase the efficiency of cell therapy. Unilateral hindlimb ischemia was surgically induced in athymic nude mice treated with or without intravenous injection of EPCs (0.5 x 10(6)), SMPCs (0.5 x 10(6)) and EPCs+SMPCs (0.25 x 10(6)+0.25 x 10(6)). Vessel density and foot perfusion were increased in mice treated with EPCs+SMPCs compared to animals receiving EPCs alone or SMPCs alone (P<0.001). In addition, capillary and arteriolar densities were enhanced in EPC+SMPC-treated mice compared to SMPC and EPC groups (P<0.01). We next examined the role of Ang-1/Tie2 signaling in the beneficial effect of EPC and SMPC coadministration. Small interfering RNA directed against Ang-1-producing SMPCs or Tie2-expressing EPCs blocked vascular network formation in Matrigel coculture assays, reduced the rate of incorporated EPCs within vascular structure, and abrogated the efficiency of cell therapy. Production of Ang-1 by SMPCs activates Tie2-expressing EPCs, resulting in increase of EPC survival and formation of a stable vascular network. Subsequently, the efficiency of EPC- and SMPC-based cotherapy is markedly increased. Therefore, coadministration of different types of vascular progenitor cells may constitute a novel therapeutic strategy for improving the treatment of ischemic diseases.

Netrin-4 inhibits angiogenesis via binding to neogenin and recruitment of Unc5B.

Netrins are secreted molecules with roles in axon guidance and angiogenesis. We identified Netrin-4 as a gene specifically overexpressed in VEGF-stimulated endothelial cells (EC) in vitro as well as in vivo. Knockdown of Netrin-4 expression in EC increased their ability to form tubular structures on Matrigel. To identify which receptor is involved, we showed by quantitative RT-PCR that EC express three of the six Netrin-1 cognate receptors: neogenin, Unc5B, and Unc5C. In contrast to Netrin-1, Netrin-4 bound only to neogenin but not to Unc5B or Unc5C receptors. Neutralization of Netrin-4 binding to neogenin by blocking antibodies abolished the chemotactic effect of Netrin-4. Furthermore, the silencing of either neogenin or Unc5B abolished Netrin-4 inhibitory effect on EC migration, suggesting that both receptors are essential for its function in vitro. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that Netrin-4 increased the association between Unc5B and neogenin on VEGF- or FGF-2-stimulated EC. Finally, we showed that Netrin-4 significantly reduced pathological angiogenesis in Matrigel and laser-induced choroidal neovascularization models. Interestingly, Netrin-4, neogenin, and Unc5B receptor expression was up-regulated in choroidal neovessel EC after laser injury. Moreover, Netrin-4 overexpression delayed tumor angiogenesis in a model of s.c. xenograft. We propose that Netrin-4 acts as an antiangiogenic factor through binding to neogenin and recruitment of Unc5B.

Neuropilin-1 and neuropilin-2 act as coreceptors, potentiating proangiogenic activity.

Neuropilin-1 and -2 (NRP1 and NRP2) are the transmembrane glycoproteins interacting with 2 types of ligands: class III semaphorins and several members of the VEGF family, the main regulators of blood and lymphatic vessel growth. We show here that both NRP1 and NRP2 can also bind hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). HGF is a pleiotropic cytokine and potent proangiogenic molecule that acts on its target cells by binding to the c-met receptor. We found that the N-terminal domain of HGF is involved in the interaction with neuropilins. We demonstrated that invalidation of NRP1 or NRP2 by RNA interference in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) decreased HGF-induced c-met phosphorylation and VEGF-A(165)- and HGF-mediated intracellular signaling. Accordingly, the disruption of NRP1 or NRP2 binding to VEGF-A(165) or HGF with a blocking antibody, decreased the proliferation and migration of endothelial cells. This effect may be further enhanced if VEGF-A(165) or HGF binding to both NRP1 and NRP2 was disrupted. Using a mouse Matrigel model, we demonstrated that NRP1 is essential for HGF-mediated angiogenesis in vivo. Our results suggest that, in endothelial cells, both NRP1 and NRP2 function as proangiogenic coreceptors, potentiating the activity of at least 2 major proangiogenic cytokines, VEGF-A(165) and HGF.

Role of human smooth muscle cell progenitors in atherosclerotic plaque development and composition.

AIMS: We analysed the possible protective role of human endothelial (EPCs) and smooth muscle (SPCs) progenitor cells on atherosclerosis development in apoE(-/-)RAG2(-/-) mice. We determined plasma levels of SPCs in coronary patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: ApoE(-/-)RAG2(-/-) mice received four intravenous injections of saline, 5 x 10(5) SPCs, or 5 x 10(5) EPCs every other week, one (preventive approach) or 12(curative approach) weeks after starting a high fat diet. Derived-SPC levels were quantified from blood mononuclear cells of patients with stable angina (n = 10) and acute coronary syndromes (ACS, n = 9). SPCs reduced atherosclerosis development by 42% (P < 0.001), but had no effect on lesion progression. In the SPC group, collagen and smooth muscle cell content were increased (+80%, P < 0.001, +46%, P < 0.05, respectively), and macrophage content was decreased (-41%, P < 0.05). In the curative approach, macrophage content decreased by 40.5% (P < 0.05) after SPC injection. EPC injection had no effect on atherosclerosis development or progression. Peripheral blood-derived SPC levels were reduced in patients with ACS compared with stable angina patients (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that SPCs limit plaque development and promote changes in plaque composition towards a stable phenotype in mice. Our finding in patients suggests that reduced peripheral blood-derived SPC levels might represent a mechanism contributing to plaque destabilization.

[Angiogenesis and hematologic malignancy]. / Angiogenèse et maladies hématologiques.

Angiogenesis plays an important role in the progression of tumors. This relationship has been described in several hematologic malignancies. Vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor are predictors of poor prognosis in leukemia and non Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bone marrow microvessels were found increased in multiple myeloma, but also in lymphoma and in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Microvessel density is correlated with decreased survival in myeloma patients and relapse or resistance to chemotherapy in lymphoma. New drugs with antiangiogenic activity such as bevacizumab (binding and inactivation of VEGF) or VEGF-tyrosine kinase inhibitors have shown promising results in phase 1 trials. It will therefore be a future challenge to integrate anti-angiogenesis agents in currently existing treatment protocols to improve the outcome of therapy.

PSGL-1-mediated activation of EphB4 increases the proangiogenic potential of endothelial progenitor cells.

Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) transplantation has beneficial effects for therapeutic neovascularization; however, only a small proportion of injected cells home to the lesion and incorporate into the neocapillaries. Consequently, this type of cell therapy requires substantial improvement to be of clinical value. Erythropoietin-producing human hepatocellular carcinoma (Eph) receptors and their ephrin ligands are key regulators of vascular development. We postulated that activation of the EphB4/ephrin-B2 system may enhance EPC proangiogenic potential. In this report, we demonstrate in a nude mouse model of hind limb ischemia that EphB4 activation with an ephrin-B2-Fc chimeric protein increases the angiogenic potential of human EPCs. This effect was abolished by EphB4 siRNA, confirming that it is mediated by EphB4. EphB4 activation enhanced P selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) expression and EPC adhesion. Inhibition of PSGL-1 by siRNA reversed the proangiogenic and adhesive effects of EphB4 activation. Moreover, neutralizing antibodies to E selectin and P selectin blocked ephrin-B2-Fc-stimulated EPC adhesion properties. Thus, activation of EphB4 enhances EPC proangiogenic capacity through induction of PSGL-1 expression and adhesion to E selectin and P selectin. Therefore, activation of EphB4 is an innovative and potentially valuable therapeutic strategy for improving the recruitment of EPCs to sites of neovascularization and thereby the efficiency of cell-based proangiogenic therapy.

Ex vivo generation of mature and functional human smooth muscle cells differentiated from skeletal myoblasts.

We described the ex vivo production of mature and functional human smooth muscle cells (SMCs) derived from skeletal myoblasts. Initially, myoblasts expressed all myogenic cell-related markers such as Myf5, MyoD and Myogenin and differentiate into myotubes. After culture in a medium containing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), these cells were shown to have adopted a differentiated SMC identity as demonstrated by alphaSMA, SM22alpha, calponin and smooth muscle-myosin heavy chain expression. Moreover, the cells cultured in the presence of VEGF did not express MyoD anymore and were unable to fuse in multinucleated myotubes. We demonstrated that myoblasts-derived SMCs (MDSMCs) interacted with endothelial cells to form, in vitro, a capillary-like network in three-dimensional collagen culture and, in vivo, a functional vascular structure in a Matrigel implant in nonobese diabetic-severe combined immunodeficient mice. Based on the easily available tissue source and their differentiation into functional SMCs, these data argue that skeletal myoblasts might represent an important tool for SMCs-based cell therapy.

Ultrasonic assessment of hepatic blood flow as a marker of mouse hepatocarcinoma.

Two-dimensional color-coded pulsed Doppler ultrasonography (US) with a 12-MHz linear transducer was used to follow tumor growth and neoangiogenesis development in 12 transgenic mice developing a whole liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) induced by the expression of SV40-T antigen. In this model, male mice developed HCC at various temporal and histologic stages (hyperplastic, four-eight wk; nodular, 12 wk; diffuse carcinoma, 16-20 wk), whereas female mice remained tumor free. Seven age-matched tumor-free mice were used as controls. Liver volume was calculated from B-mode images of the abdomen. Blood flow waveforms were recorded from the hepatic tumor-feeding artery upstream from the tumor vessels, allowing quantitative blood flow velocity measurements. Measurements were performed every four weeks from four to 20 weeks. As early as the hyperplastic stage (eight weeks), liver volume was increased by 2.7-fold, hepatic artery peak-systolic blood flow velocities (BFV) by 1.5-fold, end-diastolic BFV by 1.6-fold and mean BFV by 2.0-fold compared with control values (p < 0.001). Differences increased until 20 weeks and peak-systolic reached 90 +/- 6, end-diastolic 54 +/- 5 and mean BFV 48 +/- 5 cm s(-1). Successive measurements of BFV were reproducible and intraobserver repeatability coefficient values were <3 cm s(-1). In contrast, mesenteric artery BFV, which did not supply tumor region, did not show any significant difference with respect to control values. Thus, an increase in BFV constitutes a functional evaluation of tumor vascularity. In preclinical studies in small animals, measurements of liver volume and blood flow velocities in hepatic tumor-feeding artery provide a useful, reproducible, noninvasive, easy-to-repeat tool to monitor tumor growth and neoangiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma in mice.

The role of the vascular endothelial growth factor-Delta-like 4 ligand/Notch4-ephrin B2 cascade in tumor vessel remodeling and endothelial cell functions.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Delta-like 4 ligand (DLL4) are the only genes whose haploinsufficiency results in vascular abnormalities. Although many common pathways are up-regulated in both vascular development and tumor angiogenesis and in vascular remodeling, the role of the Delta/Notch pathway has not been clearly defined in tumor angiogenesis. In this study, we assessed the expression of DLL4, Notch4, and ephrin B2 in transgenic mice developing hepatocarcinoma characterized by a strong remodeling of the tumor sinusoids. We also investigated the role of VEGF in the expression and biological functions of these molecules on human venous endothelial cells. In transgenic livers, we showed that DLL4, active Notch4, and ephrin B2 were gradually up-regulated within the hepatocarcinoma progression and expressed on tumor sinusoidal endothelial cells. In venous endothelial cells, we showed that VEGF up-regulates DLL4 and presenilin, and increased the activation of Notch4, leading to an up-regulation of ephrin B2 with a down-regulation of Eph B4. We also showed that the activation of Notch4 is required for VEGF-induced up-regulation of ephrin B2 and the differentiation of human venous endothelial cells in vitro. Accordingly, the disruption of Notch4 signaling by pharmacologic inhibition of presenilin or addition of soluble DLL4 inhibited the effect of VEGF on human venous endothelial cell migration and differentiation. Our study strongly suggests that a coordinated activation of DDL4/Notch4 and ephrin B2 pathways downstream of VEGF plays a key role in the abnormal remodeling of tumor vessels.

Increase in vascular permeability and vasodilation are critical for proangiogenic effects of stem cell therapy.

BACKGROUND: Proangiogenic cell therapy based on administration of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMCs) or endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) is now under investigation in humans for the treatment of ischemic diseases. However, mechanisms leading to the beneficial effects of BMCs and EPCs remain unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS: BMC- and CD34+-derived progenitor cells interacted with ischemic femoral arteries through SDF-1 and CXCR4 signaling and released nitric oxide (NO) via an endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)-dependent pathway. BMC-induced NO production promoted a marked vasodilation and disrupted vascular endothelial-cadherin/beta-catenin complexes, leading to increased vascular permeability. NO-dependent vasodilation and hyperpermeability were critical for BMC infiltration in ischemic tissues and their proangiogenic potential in a model of hindlimb ischemia in mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our results propose a new concept that proangiogenic progenitor cell activity does not rely only on their ability to differentiate into endothelial cells but rather on their capacity to modulate the function of preexisting vessels.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 colitis in a patient with common variable immunodeficiency syndrome.

We report on a case of herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 colitis in a 69-year-old patient with common variable immunodeficiency syndrome. A treatment with polyvalent immunoglobulins was discontinued in April 2001. In March 2004 she developed chronic diarrhoea related to rectosigmoidal and caecal ulcerations. In November 2004, HSV was recovered in tissue culture from colonic biopsies. Valaciclovir was then started, leading the patient to clinical remission at day 4, and continued for a 6-week course (without any secondary antiviral prophylaxis). Colonic biopsies were negative for HSV by tissue culture and PCR within 3 weeks of antiviral treatment. Intravenous polyvalent immunoglobulin infusions were readministered within the third week of antiviral treatment. She has declared no clinical event since this period. Three months after the antiviral treatment was achieved, a rectosigmoidoscopy showed an ad-integrum macroscopic and histological mucosal healing whereas PCR was negative for HSV in the colonic tissue. As a large proportion of patients with common variable immunodeficiency syndrome present not only as a humoral immunodeficiency but also as a defect in the cellular immunity compartment (with T-cell deficits), HSV, as well as cytomegalovirus, should be investigated in patients with common variable immunodeficiency syndrome presenting colitis.

Tetrapeptide AcSDKP induces postischemic neovascularization through monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 signaling.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the putative proangiogenic activity and molecular pathway(s) of the tetrapeptide acetyl-N-Ser-Asp-Lys-Pro (AcSDKP) in a model of surgically induced hindlimb ischemia. METHODS AND RESULTS: Hindlimb ischemia was induced by femoral artery ligature and an osmotic minipump was implanted subcutaneously to deliver low (0.12 mg/kg per day) or high (1.2 mg/kg per day) doses of AcSDKP, for 7 or 21 days. Angiography scores, arteriole density, capillary number, and foot perfusion were increased at day 21 in the high-dose AcSDKP-treated mice (by 1.9-, 1.8-, 1.3-, and 1.6-fold, respectively) compared with control animals (P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.01, respectively). AcSDKP treatment for 24 hours upregulated the monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) mRNA and protein levels by 1.5-fold in cultured endothelial cells (P<0.01). In the ischemic hindlimb model, administration of AcSDKP also enhanced MCP-1 mRNA levels by 90-fold in ischemic leg (P<0.001) and MCP-1 plasma levels by 3-fold (P<0.001 versus untreated ischemic control mice). MCP-1 levels upregulation were associated with a 2.3-fold increase in the number of Mac3-positive cells in ischemic area of AcSDKP-treated mice (P<0.001 versus untreated animals). Interestingly, AcSDKP-induced monocyte/macrophage infiltration and postischemic neovascularization was fully blunted in MCP-1-deficient animals. CONCLUSIONS: AcSDKP stimulates postischemic neovascularization through activation of a proinflammatory MCP-1-related pathway.

Platelet factor 4 disrupts the intracellular signalling cascade induced by vascular endothelial growth factor by both KDR dependent and independent mechanisms.

The mechanism by which the CXC chemokine platelet factor 4 (PF-4) inhibits endothelial cell proliferation is unclear. The heparin-binding domains of PF-4 have been reported to prevent vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (VEGF(165)) and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) from interacting with their receptors. However, other studies have suggested that PF-4 acts via heparin-binding independent interactions. Here, we compared the effects of PF-4 on the signalling events involved in the proliferation induced by VEGF(165), which binds heparin, and by VEGF(121), which does not. Activation of the VEGF receptor, KDR, and phospholipase Cgamma (PLCgamma) was unaffected in conditions in which PF-4 inhibited VEGF(121)-induced DNA synthesis. In contrast, VEGF(165)-induced phosphorylation of KDR and PLCgamma was partially inhibited by PF-4. These observations are consistent with PF-4 affecting the binding of VEGF(165), but not that of VEGF(121), to KDR. PF-4 also strongly inhibited the VEGF(165)- and VEGF(121)-induced mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signalling pathways comprising Raf1, MEK1/2 and ERK1/2: for VEGF(165) it interacts directly or upstream from Raf1; for VEGF(121), it acts downstream from PLCgamma. Finally, the mechanism by which PF-4 may inhibit the endothelial cell proliferation induced by both VEGF(121) and VEGF(165), involving disruption of the MAP kinase signalling pathway downstream from KDR did not seem to involve CXCR3B activation.

Ex vivo differentiated endothelial and smooth muscle cells from human cord blood progenitors home to the angiogenic tumor vasculature.

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have provided increasing evidence that postnatal neovascularization does not rely exclusively on sprouting of preexisting vessels, but also involves bone marrow-derived circulating endothelial precursors (BM-EPCs). Animal studies revealed that neovascularization of ischemic tissue can be enhanced by BM-EPCs transplantation. But a possible limitation to the use of vascular precursors for therapeutic angiogenesis is the relatively low number of these cells. In this study, we demonstrate that ex vivo expanded differentiated endothelial cells (ECs) and smooth muscle cells (SMCs), may home to the tumor vasculature allowing targeting of transgene expression to the neoangiogenic site. METHODS: Mononuclear cells (MNCs) or CD34+ -enriched cells were purified from cord blood. We have defined culture conditions in which we observed two types of clones easily differentiated according to their morphology: cobblestone or spindle-shaped. Phenotypic characterization was assessed by immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry analysis and polymerase reaction with reverse transcription. Formation of capillary-like network in vitro was studied in three-dimensional collagen culture. And recruitment of these cells to a tumoral neoangiogenic site was assessed into tumor-bearing Severe Combined Immunodeficient (SCID) mouse model. RESULTS: The cobblestone cells uniformly positive for CD31, VE-cadherin, vWF, VEGF R1 and R2, ecNOS and incorporating acetylated LDL were ECs. Spindle-shaped cells expressed alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), Smooth Muscle Heavy Chain (SMHC), SM22 and calponin. They also displayed a carbachol-induced contractility in a medium containing IGF1. So we concluded that spindle-shaped cells were SMCs. ECs and SMCs interacted with each other to form a capillary like network in three-dimensional type I collagen culture. Moreover, these ex vivo differentiated cells are able to home to the tumor vasculature. CONCLUSION: We provide evidence that progenitors for ECs and SMCs circulate in human cord blood and differentiate into functional ECs and SMCs. These differentiated cells could provide a biomaterial for vascular cell therapy, because of their homing capacity to the neovascularization site.