Resistance to Anti-angiogenic Therapies: A Mechanism Depending on the Time of Exposure to the Drugs
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Authors: Montemagno, Christopher; Pages, Gilles
Abstract
Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from preexisting one, represents a critical process for oxygen and nutrient supply to proliferating cells, therefore promoting tumor growth and metastasis. The Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) pathway is one of the key mediators of angiogenesis in cancer. Therefore, several therapies including monoclonal antibodies or tyrosine kinase inhibitors target this axis. Although preclinical studies demonstrated strong antitumor activity, clinical studies were disappointing. Antiangiogenic drugs, used to treat metastatic patients suffering of different types of cancers, prolonged survival to different extents but are not curative. In this review, we focused on different mechanisms involved in resistance to antiangiogenic therapies from early stage resistance involving mainly tumor cells to late stages related to the adaptation of the microenvironment.
MiR-130b/TNF-alpha/NF-kappa B/VEGFA loop inhibits prostate cancer angiogenesis
CLINICAL & TRANSLATIONAL ONCOLOGY
Authors: Mu, H. Q.; He, Y. H.; Wang, S. B.; Yang, S.; Wang, Y. J.; Nan, C. J.; Bao, Y. F.; Xie, Q. P.; Chen, Y. H.
Abstract
Background Angiogenesis is a critical biological process essential for solid cancer growth and metastasis. It has been shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a vital role in a variety of biological processes in cancers. However, whether miR-130b is involved in prostate cancer angiogenesis remains ill-defined. Methods We performed the miRNA microarray to analyze miRNA expression in human prostate cancer specimens. In vitro gain-of-function assays and loss-of-function assays were conducted to explore the potential functions of miR-130b in human prostate cancer cells. Correlation analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assay were performed to validate whether tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) was a direct target of miR-130b. The Matrigel plug and tumor vascular imaging assays were performed to confirm the anti-angiogenic activity of miR-130b in nude mice. Results We found that miR-130b was one of the miRNAs being most significantly downregulated. Subsequently, we found that miR-130b expression was markedly downregulated in human prostate cancer cell lines. Down-regulation of miR-130b in prostate cancer cells significantly promoted the proliferation, invasion and tubule formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), while ectopic expression of miR-130b blocked prostate cancer angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic analyses indicated that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) was regulated by miR-130b directly. MiR-130b attenuated nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) signaling and its downstream gene vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGFA) by directly inhibiting TNF-alpha expression. Additionally, subsequent investigations identified that the ectopic level of VEGFA markedly abrogated the anti-angiogenic effect induced by miR-130b. Interestingly, VEGFA could in turn decrease the expression of miR-130b, thus forming a negative feedback loop that drives the angiogenesis of prostate cancer. Conclusion These findings show that miR-130b/TNF-alpha/NF-kappa B/VEGFA feedback loop is significantly correlated with angiogenesis in prostate cancer and miR-130b could be regarded as potential therapeutic target for prostate cancer anti-angiogenesis treatment.