骨桥蛋白在肿瘤血管形成中的作用

骨桥蛋白(osteopontin OPN)是一种糖基化磷酸蛋白,许多肿瘤都可以分泌和表达.大量研究显示:OPN在恶性肿瘤转移播散过程中发挥重要作用.而新生血管形成是肿瘤转移进展过程中非常重要的步骤.OPN与肿瘤新生血管关系密切,癌组织中OPN的高表达与肿瘤微血管密度相关.OPN与许多血管形成因子相互影响协同促进血管形成.OPN通过与整合素和CD44受体结合的细胞信号通路作用于血管形成的重要参与者内皮细胞,影响其增殖,迁移,粘附,趋化,凋亡等生物学特性,并降解细胞外基质为内皮细胞在局部组织中延伸形成血管提供基础.最近的研究也显示OPN可以在血管干/祖细胞水平调节其增殖功能,从而影响肿瘤血管新生.本文将对OPN分子结构,OPN在肿瘤血管形成中所起的作用及相关机制进行综述.     

髓样细胞在肿瘤血管生成过程中的作用

肿瘤血管生成在肿瘤的发展过程中起着关键作用。外周循环血中存在的一些髓样细胞,如巨噬细胞、中性粒细胞、酸性粒细胞、肥大细胞和树突状细胞等具有多方面的能力,被募集到肿瘤组织中,在肿瘤微环境中促进肿瘤的血管生成。这些髓样细胞在肿瘤血管生成过程中起重要的作用。该文对这些不同类型细胞促进肿瘤血管生成的作用进行了论述。     

靶向毒素DT-VEGF的构建、表达与活性分析

肿瘤的快速生长依赖于新生血管的形成。血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）是血管发生和形成过程中的主要介质,其特异性受体在正常组织和肿瘤组织的表达率存在数个数量级的差异,因此可以将毒素分子转运至增生的肿瘤上皮组织中抑制肿瘤血管增生,从而抑制肿瘤的生长。将白喉毒素的前389个氨基酸基因片段与VEGF165通过一短肽相连构建为融合蛋白基因,在大肠杆菌中表达,获得纯化蛋白。实验证实该融合蛋白对血管内皮细胞有特异性杀伤作用,并研究了其对鸡胚尿囊膜新生血管的抑制作用。     

抗血管生成治疗实体肿瘤正常化期间微环境对血液灌注的影响

目的 研究实体肿瘤抗肿瘤血管生成治疗作用下,血管正常化期肿瘤血管微环境动力学参数的变化（包括渗透率、水力传导系数、胶体渗透压、表面积与体积的比例和血管管径）对血液灌注的影响.方法 数值模拟肿瘤血管止常化期过程中的血液灌注.设血液为不可压缩牛顿流体,肿瘤内间质流动遵循Darcy定律,管内流量用扩展的Poiseuille定律,跨壁流量采用Starling定律.用差分迭代法数值计算肿瘤血液灌注组织间质压强.结果 在＂血管止常化窗口期＂,肿瘤组织间质压强下降,压强梯度增大.结论 抗血管生成治疗不仅抑制了肿瘤血管生成,而且随肿瘤血管血液动力学参数的变化,在＂血管正常化窗口期＂改善了肿瘤血液动力学环境,有利于其他治疗肿瘤药物的输运.抗肿瘤血管生成和其它方法联合可望有较好的疗效.     

肿瘤饥饿疗法的新靶标——内分泌腺衍生血管内皮生长因子

“肿瘤饥饿疗法”是通过抑制促肿瘤血管新生细胞因子的作用,阻断肿瘤血管形成,最终实现“饿死”肿瘤细胞的一种治疗方法．内分泌腺衍生血管内皮生长因子(EG-VEGF)是在2001年被发现的一个组织选择性促血管新生因子．近年来的研究表明,EG-VEGF还兼有促进造血干细胞分化、刺激胃肠道收缩及影响肠神经系统发育等多种生理功能．EG-VEGF的异常表达与多种肿瘤及血管新生依赖性疾病的发生发展密切相关,有望作为相应的治疗靶点开发诊断及治疗试剂．本文对有关研究进展及应用前景作一简要综述．     

脂质合成在肿瘤代谢及发展中的研究进展

肿瘤组织中脂质合成的增加一直被认为是细胞转化过程中物质和能量代谢的重要组成部分。近年来,脂质在细胞转化为肿瘤,肿瘤生长、侵袭、转移过程中的作用备受关注。简要回顾了脂质合成和代谢在肿瘤中的研究进展,尤其是脂质代谢异常在肿瘤细胞增殖、侵袭及肿瘤血管形成过程中的作用。     

α_vβ_3整合素与恶性肿瘤侵袭转移关系的研究进展

整合素家族是细胞粘附分子的重要种类之一,主要作用是介导细胞与细胞之间、细胞与细胞外基质之间的粘附效应。医学研究证实整合素家族与肿瘤的侵袭及远处转移等生物学行为密切相关。整合素αvβ3是整合素家族中的一种重要分子,肿瘤血管内皮细胞中αvβ3的表达水平对肿瘤侵袭转移及血管生成有着重要作用,调节αvβ3的表达水平可明显影响肿瘤的侵袭转移及肿瘤组织中新生血管的形成。深入研究整合素αvβ3的分子调节机制可以为肿瘤治疗提供新的治疗靶点。     

VEGF和Notch通路在肝癌血管形成中的作用

血管内皮生长因子(vascular endothelial growth factor,VEGF)和Notch信号通路在血管新生及肿瘤血管生成过程发挥极重要的作用。VEGF被认为是血管生成的刺激因子,可启动血管生成,而Notch信号通路则在肿瘤血管生成过程发挥负反馈作用,防止血管过度生成,两者的协调作用保证形成的血管具有一定功能,确保肿瘤生长的氧供。同时阻断DLL4/Notch和VEGF具有协同作用,既能降低肿瘤血管的密度及功能,又抑制肿瘤生长。如果能证实VEGF/Notch信号网络在肝癌新生血管中的作用,可以为肝癌的治疗提供新的思路。     

胎盘生长因子与肿瘤的研究进展

血管内皮生长因子(vascular endothelial growth factor,VEGF)家族及其受体已被公认在促进血管生成中起关键作用,大量研究证实其与肿瘤生长及血管生成具有相关性.胎盘生长因子(placental growth factor,PlGF)为VEGF家族的一个成员,与其受体VEGFR-1可以通过特异性结合而产生生物学活性.P1GF在正常组织中几乎不表达,但在病理条件下,其在一些细胞中表达增加.在肿瘤生长和血管生成的基础研究中,P1GF的作用备受争议.PlGF在人类多种肿瘤组织中表达,并且在部分肿瘤中其表达水平与预后不良相关.抗P1GF治疗可抑制血管生成及肿瘤细胞生长.同抗VEGF治疗相比,抗P1GF治疗副作用较小,而且不损害健康血管.现就P1GF及其与肿瘤相关研究予以综述.     

LCM联合快速免疫组化技术——一种获取肿瘤原位血管内皮细胞的可行途径

目的肿瘤血管内皮细胞对肿瘤发生发展极为重要,是目前肿瘤研究的热点。本研究为从肿瘤组织原位获取高纯度血管内皮细胞进行基因表达研究摸索可行方法。方法获取淋巴瘤组织标本后,置于锌固定液中固定,并通过进行激光捕获显微切割(lasercapture microdissection,LCM)前操作模拟LCM环境,确定锌固定法对RNA完整性的保护作用。将组织标本制作冰冻切片,采用快速免疫组化染色方法标记血管内皮细胞,利用LCM技术获取肿瘤组织原位血管内皮细胞,并用RT-PCR方法对所获细胞进行纯度检测。结果无论是固定后直接提取组织RNA,还是经模拟LCM环境再提取RNA,均显示锌固定法对RNA完整性提供了良好保护。快速免疫组化可以明确标记血管内皮细胞,后者能够被LCM准确捕获,并经RT-PCR验证为高纯度的血管内皮细胞。结论快速免疫组化联合LCM技术可以从肿瘤组织原位获取高纯度血管内皮细胞,并保证RNA的完整性,可能为肿瘤血管内皮细胞基因表达研究奠定基础。     

Modeling of angiogenin - 3-NMP complex

Angiogenin belongs to the Ribonuclease superfamily and has a weak enzymatic activity that is crucial for its biological function of stimulating blood vessel growth. Structural studies on ligand bound Angiogenin will go a long way in understanding the mechanism of the protein as well as help in designing drugs against it. In this study we present the first available structure of nucleotide ligand bound Angiogenin obtained by computer modeling. The importance of this study in itself notwithstanding, is a precursor to modeling a full dinucleotide substrate onto Angiogenin. Bovine Angiogenin, the structure of which has been solved at a high resolution, was earlier subjected to Molecular Dynamics simulations for a nanosecond. The MD structures offer better starting points for docking as they offer lesser obstruction than the crystal structure to ligand binding. The MD structure with the least serious short contacts was modeled to obtain a steric free Angiogenin - 3' mononucleotide complex structure. The structures were energetically minimized and subjected to a brief spell of Molecular Dynamics. The results of the simulation show that all the ligand-Angiogenin interactions and hydrogen bonds are retained, redeeming the structure and docking procedure. Further, following ligand - protein interactions in the case of the ligands 3'-CMP and 3'-UMP we were able to speculate on how Angiogenin, a predominantly prymidine specific ribonuclease prefers Cytosine to Uracil in the first base position.     

Isolation and characterization of an angiogenin-like protein from goat plasma

Angiogenin, a blood vessel inducing protein has been implicated in wound healing and tumour progression. First isolated from human carcinoma cells, it has been subsequently isolated from human, bovine, rabbit, pig and mouse sera and bovine milk. This study reports the isolation of an angiogenic-like protein from goat plasma. The ribonucleolytic activity has been followed by yeast transfer RNA (tRNA) degradation using spectrophotometric and denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis methods. The chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay has been implemented to study its angiogenic activity. The presence of this protein has also been confirmed by strong binding with placental Ribonuclease Inhibitor (PRI).     

Mutational dynamics of murine angiogenin duplicates

Background  

Angiogenin (Ang) is a protein involved in angiogenesis by inducing the formation of blood vessels. The biomedical importance of this protein has come from findings linking mutations in Ang to cancer progression and neurodegenerative diseases. These findings highlight the evolutionary constrain on Ang amino acid sequence. However, previous studies comparing human Angiogenin with homologs from other phylogenetically related organisms have led to the conclusion that Ang presents a striking variability. Whether this variability has an adaptive value per se remains elusive. Understanding why many functional Ang paralogs have been preserved in mouse and rat and identifying functional divergence mutations at these copies may explain the relationship between mutations and function. In spite of the importance of testing this hypothesis from the evolutionarily and biomedical perspectives, this remains yet unaccomplished. Here we test the main mutational dynamics driving the evolution and function of Ang paralogs in mammals.     

Regulation of angiogenin expression in human HepG2 hepatoma cells by mediators of the acute-phase response.

Angiogenin is a potent inducer of neovascularization in vivo. However, like other angiogenic molecules, its specific physiologic roles and mechanisms regulating its expression remain to be elucidated. Angiogenin is a liver-derived component of normal serum whose concentration can increase in various disease states. This suggests that it might participate in the acute-phase response. In an initial study we showed that angiogenin protein and mRNA levels transiently increased in mice following an acute inflammatory stimulus. We now report that IL-6, a major inducer of acute-phase proteins, stimulates the synthesis and secretion of angiogenin protein in human HepG2 cells within 24 hr following treatment, an effect enhanced by dexamethasone. IL-6 also increases the amount of angiogenin mRNA without altering its half-life. This increase, suppressible by cycloheximide, peaks at 12 hr following stimulation and returns to basal levels by 48 hr. IL-1 alone slightly decreases the basal production of angiogenin protein and mRNA, but essentially abolishes the response to IL-6 in the absence or presence of dexamethasone. This antagonistic effect by IL-1 on IL-6 activity is not a result of changes in mRNA stability nor is it dependent on new protein synthesis. Thus, the combined effects of IL-6, IL-1, glucocorticoids, and perhaps other related factors may specifically control angiogenin expression. Since angiogenin is regulated in a manner similar to that of acute phase proteins both in vitro and in vivo, it may play a role in the host response to injury.     

Computational and Functional Characterization of Angiogenin Mutations,and Correlation with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

The Angiogenin (ANG) gene is frequently mutated in patients suffering from the neurodegenerative disease - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Most of the ALS-causing mutations in Angiogenin affect either its ribonucleolytic or nuclear translocation activity. Here we report the functional characterization of two previously uncharacterized missense mutations in Angiogenin - D22G and L35P. We predict the nature of loss-of-function(s) in these mutants through our previously established Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation extended to 100 ns, and show that the predictions are entirely validated through biochemical studies with wild-type and mutated proteins. Based on our studies, we provide a biological explanation for the loss-of-function of D22G-Angiogenin leading to ALS, and suggest that the L35P-Angiogenin mutation would probably cause ALS symptoms in individuals harboring this mutation. Our study thus highlights the strength of MD simulation-based predictions, and suggests that this method can be used for correlating mutations in Angiogenin or other effector proteins with ALS symptoms.     

雌激素受体亚型及其配体调节基因转录机制的研究

本文综述雌激素受体亚型（ERα和ERβ）的结构,功能,组织分布,生理作用及雌激素受体配体调节基因转录的机制,目的是深入系统地了解植物雌激素和选择性雌激素受体调节剂的作用路径及其组织特异性的发生机制,最终为提高雌激素类药物的选择性,优化以临床为基础的药物设计提供一条较为系统的思路。结果表明,ERα和ERβ对不同雌激素类化合物产生不同应答,配体的结构不同,调节基因转录的路径不同和募集的辅调节蛋白的不同是雌激素受体两种亚型组织特异性激活或抑制的主要原因。     

Angiogenin depresses aortic smooth muscle cell cAMP by a pertussis toxin sensitive mechanism

Angiogenin transiently depresses the cAMP level of rat aortic smooth muscle cells. The dose response is similar to angiogenin activation of the inositol-specific phospholipase C in this cell line [Moore, F. & Riordan, J.F. (1989) Biochemistry. Submitted]. The time course showed a maximal depression (28%) in cAMP at 2 min, followed by a return to that of unstimulated cells by 3.5 min. Angiogenin also inhibited isoproterenol stimulated cAMP formation, but the percentage depression in cAMP (9%) was less than that in cells treated with angiogenin alone (28%). In contrast angiogenin enhanced forskolin stimulation of adenylate cyclase, an effect previously linked with agonist activation of protein kinase C. The effect of angiogenin on cellular cAMP was abolished by pre-incubation with pertussis toxin. Angiogenin had no effect on cellular cGMP. These results are consistent with activation of adenylate cyclase Gi following exposure of the cells to angiogenin and provide further evidence for interaction between cellular signalling pathways.