InVivoMAb anti-mouse VEGFR-2

Oncolytic viruses designed to attack malignant cells can in addition infect and destroy tumor vascular endothelial cells. We show here that this expanded tropism of oncolytic vaccinia virus to the endothelial compartment is a consequence of VEGF-mediated suppression of the intrinsic antiviral response. VEGF/VEGFR2 signaling through Erk1/2 and Stat3 leads to upregulation, nuclear localization, and activation of the transcription repressor PRD1-BF1/Blimp1. PRD1-BF1 does not contribute to the mitogenic effects of VEGF, but directly represses genes involved in type I interferon (IFN)-mediated antiviral signaling. In vivo suppression of VEGF signaling diminishes PRD1-BF1/Blimp1 expression in tumor vasculature and inhibits intravenously administered oncolytic vaccinia delivery to and consequent spread within the tumor.

Beta human papillomaviruses (HPV) have been suspected to be carcinogenic in nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC), but the basis for potential viral contributions to these cancers is poorly understood. In particular, it is unresolved how HPV-infected keratinocytes escape cell-cycle control and whether their cross-talk with immune cells is critical for tumorigenesis. In nonviral preclinical models, the angiogenic cytokine VEGF-A has been identified as a critical regulator of NMSC. In this study, we dissected the contribution of epidermal versus myeloid cell-derived VEGF-A in HPV-mediated skin cancer by interbreeding an HPV8 transgenic mouse model with a conditional disruption of VEGF-A restricted to either epidermal or myeloid cells. Although only epidermal-derived VEGF-A was essential for initiation of skin tumor development, both spontaneously and UV-light triggered, both epidermal and myeloid cell-derived VEGF-A contributed to regeneration-induced tumorigenesis upon HPV8 overexpression, partly not only through a paracrine effect on endothelial cells, but also most probably through an additional autocrine effect on epidermal cells. Our findings offer new mechanistic insights into distinct functions of epidermal versus myeloid cell-derived VEGF-A during HPV-mediated tumorigenesis, with possible implications for preventing this disease.

PURPOSE: To examine the addition of genetic or pharmacologic inhibition of hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1alpha) to radiation therapy (RT) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) inhibition (ie trimodality therapy) for soft-tissue sarcoma. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha was inhibited using short hairpin RNA or low metronomic doses of doxorubicin, which blocks HIF-1alpha binding to DNA. Trimodality therapy was examined in a mouse xenograft model and a genetically engineered mouse model of sarcoma, as well as in vitro in tumor endothelial cells (ECs) and 4 sarcoma cell lines. RESULTS: In both mouse models, any monotherapy or bimodality therapy resulted in tumor growth beyond 250 mm(3) within the 12-day treatment period, but trimodality therapy with RT, VEGF-A inhibition, and HIF-1alpha inhibition kept tumors at <250 mm(3) for up to 30 days. Trimodality therapy on tumors reduced HIF-1alpha activity as measured by expression of nuclear HIF-1alpha by 87% to 95% compared with RT alone, and cytoplasmic carbonic anhydrase 9 by 79% to 82%. Trimodality therapy also increased EC-specific apoptosis 2- to 4-fold more than RT alone and reduced microvessel density by 75% to 82%. When tumor ECs were treated in vitro with trimodality therapy under hypoxia, there were significant decreases in proliferation and colony formation and increases in DNA damage (as measured by Comet assay and gammaH2AX expression) and apoptosis (as measured by cleaved caspase 3 expression). Trimodality therapy had much less pronounced effects when 4 sarcoma cell lines were examined in these same assays. CONCLUSIONS: Inhibition of HIF-1alpha is highly effective when combined with RT and VEGF-A inhibition in blocking sarcoma growth by maximizing DNA damage and apoptosis in tumor ECs, leading to loss of tumor vasculature.

Schlemm’s canal (SC) plays central roles in ocular physiology. These roles depend on the molecular phenotypes of SC endothelial cells (SECs). Both the specific phenotype of SECs and development of SC remain poorly defined. To allow a modern and extensive analysis of SC and its origins, we developed a new whole-mount procedure to visualize its development in the context of surrounding tissues. We then applied genetic lineage tracing, specific-fluorescent reporter genes, immunofluorescence, high-resolution confocal microscopy, and three-dimensional (3D) rendering to study SC. Using these techniques, we show that SECs have a unique phenotype that is a blend of both blood and lymphatic endothelial cell phenotypes. By analyzing whole mounts of postnatal mouse eyes progressively to adulthood, we show that SC develops from blood vessels through a newly discovered process that we name “canalogenesis.” Functional inhibition of KDR (VEGFR2), a critical receptor in initiating angiogenesis, shows that this receptor is required during canalogenesis. Unlike angiogenesis and similar to stages of vasculogenesis, during canalogenesis tip cells divide and form branched chains prior to vessel formation. Differing from both angiogenesis and vasculogenesis, during canalogenesis SECs express Prox1, a master regulator of lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic phenotypes. Thus, SC development resembles a blend of vascular developmental programs. These advances define SC as a unique vessel with a combination of blood vascular and lymphatic phenotypes. They are important for dissecting its functions that are essential for ocular health and normal vision.