Project description:The deregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been demonstrated to be involved in tumor angiogenesis and offers opportunities for a new therapeutic approach. However, effective miRNA delivery systems are needed for such approaches to be successful. In this study, miRNA profiling of patient data sets, along with in vitro and in vivo experiments, revealed that miR-204-5p could promote angiogenesis in ovarian tumors through THBS1. To identify potential molecular mechanisms by which miR-204-5p exerts its pro-angiogenic effects, we performed a gene expression microarray of HeyA8-MDR cells following treatment with miR-204-5p-inh.
Project description:Current anti-angiogenic therapy for cancer is based mainly on inhibition of the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway. However, due to the transient and only modest benefit from such therapy, additional approaches are needed. Deregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been demonstrated to be involved in tumor angiogenesis and offers opportunities for a new therapeutic approach. However, effective miRNA-delivery systems are needed for such approaches to be successful. In this study, miRNA profiling of patient data sets, along with in vitro and in vivo experiments, revealed that miR-204-5p could promote angiogenesis in ovarian tumors through THBS1. By binding with scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SCARB1), reconstituted high-density lipoprotein-nanoparticles (rHDL-NPs) were effective in delivering miR-204-5p inhibitor (miR-204-5p-inh) to tumor sites to suppress tumor growth. These results offer a new understanding of miR-204-5p in regulating tumor angiogenesis.
Project description:Angiogenesis is regarded as a hallmark in cancer development, and anti-angiogenic treatment is presently used in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. MicroRNAs (miRs) are small non-coding, endogenous, single stranded RNAs that regulate gene expression. As miRs are relatively stabile and measurable in both tissue and serum, they are potential prognostic and predictive markers. In this study we aimed to identify significant altered miRs related to angiogenesis in NSCLC
Project description:Angiogenesis is regarded as a hallmark in cancer development, and anti-angiogenic treatment is presently used in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. MicroRNAs (miRs) are small non-coding, endogenous, single stranded RNAs that regulate gene expression. As miRs are relatively stabile and measurable in both tissue and serum, they are potential prognostic and predictive markers. In this study we aimed to identify significant altered miRs related to angiogenesis in NSCLC From a large cohort of 335 NSCLC patients, paraffin-embedded samples from 10 patients with a short disease specific survival (DSS), 10 with a long DSS and 10 normal controls were analyzed.
Project description:In a mouse model of ovarian cancer, we have established that prolonged exposure to 17β-estradiol (E2) accelerates tumour onset and increases the incidence of morphologically dysplastic ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). OSE cell proliferation and morphology are tightly regulated by the asymmetrical distribution of polarity proteins that provide positional cues for surface localization and growth inhibition. We hypothesized that E2 causes OSE dysplasia by inhibiting a tumour suppressor gene called Disabled-2 (Dab2). Dab2 is critical in mediating the polarized distribution of cell surface proteins and is highly expressed in normal OSE, but is absent in the majority of ovarian cancers. In this study, Dab2 is shown to be suppressed by E2 and we investigated the possibility that this occurs through E2 up-regulation of microRNAs. microRNA microarray analysis comparing control vs. E2 treated mouse ovarian cancer cells (MASE) was used to identify candidate miRNAs that have a seeding sequence capable of targeting the 3-prime untranslated region (3’UTR) of both human and mouse Dab2 transcript.
Project description:While VEGF-targeted therapies are showing promise in clinical studies, new angiogenesis targets are needed to make additional gains. Here, we show that increased Zeste homologue 2 (EZH2) expression in either tumor cells or in tumor vasculature is predictive of poor clinical outcome. The increase in endothelial EZH2 is a direct result of VEGF stimulation and indicates the presence of a paracrine circuit that promotes angiogenesis by methylating and silencing vasohibin 1 (VASH1). EZH2 silencing in the tumor-associated endothelial cells resulted in inhibition of angiogenesis mediated by reactivation of VASH1, and reduced ovarian cancer growth. Combined, these data provide a new understanding of the regulation of tumor angiogenesis and support the potential for targeting EZH2 as a novel therapeutic approach. Pre-clinical study, DNA microarray (Illumina HumanHT-12)
Project description:Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death for women in the U.S. and the seventh most fatal worldwide. Although ovarian cancer is notable for its initial sensitivity to platinum-based therapies, the vast majority of women eventually recurs and succumbs to increasingly platinum-resistant disease. Modern, targeted cancer drugs intervene in cell signaling pathways by compensating for their deregulation, and identifying these key mechanisms and pathways would greatly advance our ability to treat disease. In order to shed light on the molecular diversity of ovarian cancer, we performed comprehensive transcriptional profiling on 129 high grade, late stage serous ovarian cancers. We implemented a novel, re-sampling based version of the ISIS class discovery algorithm (rISIS: robust ISIS) and applied it to the entire set of ovarian cancer transcriptional profiles. rISIS identified a novel stratification of this disease into two groups with significantly different overall survival. Gene set enrichment analysis found strong support for the stratification by extracellular matrix, cell adhesion, and angiogenesis genes. Application of this 'angiogenesis' signature to independent, published ovarian cancer gene expression data confirms its prognostic potential. Additional support for this stratification is provided by micro-RNA expression profiles which exhibit statistically significant expression differences between the groups, and additional mechanistic analyses have allowed development of hypotheses relevant to directed therapeutic intervention for specific subclasses of the disease. In particular, the subgroup stratification we discovered may be relevant for identifying which patients may be best suited for anti-angiogenic therapies that are now being tested in clinical trials.