Dataset Information

HTERT promotes tumor angiogenesis by activating VEGF via interactions with the Sp1 transcription factor.

ABSTRACT: Angiogenesis is recognized as an important hallmark of cancer. Although telomerase is thought to be involved in tumor angiogenesis, the evidence and underlying mechanism remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) activates vascular epithelial growth factor (VEGF) gene expression through interactions with the VEGF promoter and the transcription factor Sp1. hTERT binds to Sp1 in vitro and in vivo and stimulates angiogenesis in a manner dependent on Sp1. Deletion of the mTert gene in the first generation of Tert null mice compromised tumor growth, with reduced VEGF expression. In addition, we show that hTERT expression levels are positively correlated with those of VEGF in human gastric tumor samples. Together, our results demonstrate that hTERT facilitates tumor angiogenesis by up-regulating VEGF expression through direct interactions with the VEGF gene and the Sp1 transcription factor. These results provide novel insights into hTERT function in tumor progression in addition to its role in telomere maintenance.

SUBMITTER: Liu N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5062966 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

hTERT promotes tumor angiogenesis by activating VEGF via interactions with the Sp1 transcription factor.

Liu Ning N Ding Deqiang D Hao Wanyu W Yang Fan F Wu Xiaoying X Wang Miao M Xu Xiaoling X Ju Zhenyu Z Liu Jun-Ping JP Song Zhangfa Z Shay Jerry W JW Guo Yunliang Y Cong Yu-Sheng YS

Nucleic acids research 20160620 18

Angiogenesis is recognized as an important hallmark of cancer. Although telomerase is thought to be involved in tumor angiogenesis, the evidence and underlying mechanism remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) activates vascular epithelial growth factor (VEGF) gene expression through interactions with the VEGF promoter and the transcription factor Sp1. hTERT binds to Sp1 in vitro and in vivo and stimulates angiogenesis in a manner dependent on Sp1 ...[more]

PMID: 27325744

Similar Datasets

Project description:Early in cancer development, tumour cells express vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a secreted molecule that is important in all stages of angiogenesis, an essential process that provides nutrients and oxygen to the nascent tumor and thereby enhances tumor-cell survival and facilitates growth. Survivin, another protein involved in angiogenesis, is strongly expressed in most human cancers, where it promotes tumor survival by reducing apoptosis as well as favoring endothelial cell proliferation and migration. The mechanisms by which cancer cells induce VEGF expression and angiogenesis upon survivin up-regulation remain to be fully established. Since the PI3K/Akt signalling and ?-catenin-Tcf/Lef dependent transcription have been implicated in the expression of many cancer-related genes, including survivin and VEGF, we evaluated whether survivin may favor VEGF expression, release from tumor cells and induction of angiogenesis in a PI3K/Akt-?-catenin-Tcf/Lef-dependent manner. Here, we provide evidence linking survivin expression in tumor cells to increased ?-catenin protein levels, ?-catenin-Tcf/Lef transcriptional activity and expression of several target genes of this pathway, including survivin and VEGF, which accumulates in the culture medium. Alternatively, survivin downregulation reduced ?-catenin protein levels and ?-catenin-Tcf/Lef transcriptional activity. Also, using inhibitors of PI3K and the expression of dominant negative Akt, we show that survivin acts upstream in an amplification loop to promote VEGF expression. Moreover, survivin knock-down in B16F10 murine melanoma cells diminished the number of blood vessels and reduced VEGF expression in tumors formed in C57BL/6 mice. Finally, in the chick chorioallantoid membrane assay, survivin expression in tumor cells enhanced VEGF liberation and blood vessel formation. Importantly, the presence of neutralizing anti-VEGF antibodies precluded survivin-enhanced angiogenesis in this assay. These findings provide evidence for the existance of a posititve feedback loop connecting survivin expression in tumor cells to PI3K/Akt enhanced ?-catenin-Tcf/Lef-dependent transcription followed by secretion of VEGF and angiogenesis.

Project description:Recently, vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C or VEGF-2) was described as a specific ligand for the endothelial receptor tyrosine kinases VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3. In vivo data, limited to constitutive overexpression in transgenic mice, have been interpreted as evidence that the growth-promoting effects of VEGF-C are restricted to development of the lymphatic vasculature. The current studies were designed to test the hypothesis that constitutive expression of VEGF-C in adult animals promotes angiogenesis. In vitro, VEGF-C exhibited a dose-dependent mitogenic and chemotactic effect on endothelial cells, particularly for microvascular endothelial cells (72% and 95% potency, respectively, compared with VEGF-A/VEGF-1). VEGF-C stimulated release of nitric oxide from endothelial cells and increased vascular permeability in the Miles assay; the latter effect was attenuated by pretreatment with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. Both VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3 receptors were shown to be expressed in human saphenous vein and internal mammary artery. The potential for VEGF-C to promote angiogenesis in vivo was then tested in a rabbit ischemic hindlimb model. Ten days after ligation of the external iliac artery, VEGF-C was administered as naked plasmid DNA (pcVEGF-C; 500 microg) from the polymer coating of an angioplasty balloon (n = 8 each) or as recombinant human protein (rhVEGF-C; 500 microg) by direct intra-arterial infusion. Physiological and anatomical assessments of angiogenesis 30 days later showed evidence of therapeutic angiogenesis for both pcVEGF-C and rhVEGF-C. Hindlimb blood pressure ratio (ischemic/normal) after pcVEGF-C increased to 0.83 +/- 0.03 after pcVEGF-C versus 0.59 +/- 0.04 (P < 0.005) in pGSVLacZ controls and to 0.76 +/- 0.04 after rhVEGF-C versus 0.58 +/- 0.03 (P < 0.01) in control rabbits receiving rabbit serum albumin. Doppler-derived iliac flow reserve was 2.7 +/- 0.1 versus 2.0 +/- 0.2 (P < 0.05) for pcVEGF-C versus LacZ controls and 2.9 +/- 0.3 versus 2.1 +/- 0.2 (P < 0.05) for rhVEGF-C versus albumin controls. Neovascularity was documented by angiography in vivo (angiographic scores: 0.85 +/- 0.05 versus 0.51 +/- 0.02 (P < 0.001) for plasmid DNA and 0.74 +/- 0.08 versus 0.53 +/- 0.03 (P < 0.05) for protein), and capillary density (per mm2) was measured at necropsy (252 +/- 12 versus 183 +/- 10 (P < 0.005) for plasmid DNA and 229 +/- 20 versus 164 +/- 20 (P < 0.05) for protein). In contrast to the results of gene targeting experiments, constitutive expression of VEGF-C in adult animals promotes angiogenesis in the setting of limb ischemia. VEGF-C and its receptors thus constitute an apparently redundant pathway for postnatal angiogenesis and may represent an alternative to VEGF-A for strategies of therapeutic angiogenesis in patients with limb and/or myocardial ischemia.

Dataset Information

HTERT promotes tumor angiogenesis by activating VEGF via interactions with the Sp1 transcription factor.

Publications

hTERT promotes tumor angiogenesis by activating VEGF via interactions with the Sp1 transcription factor.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets