Role of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in chronic stress-promoted tumour growth |
| |
Authors: | Barbieri Antonio Palma Giuseppe Rosati Alessandra Giudice Aldo Falco Antonia Petrillo Antonella Petrillo Mario Bimonte Sabrina Di Benedetto Maria Esposito Giuseppe Stiuso Paola Abbruzzese Alberto Caraglia Michele Arra Claudio |
| |
Affiliation: | Animal Facility, National Institute of Tumours G. Pascale, Naples, Italy. |
| |
Abstract: | Accumulating evidence suggests that chronic stress can be a cofactor for the initiation and progression of cancer. Here we evaluated the role of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in stress-promoted tumour growth of murine B16F10 melanoma cell line in C57BL/6 mice. Animals subjected to restraint stress showed increased levels adrenocorticotropic hormone, enlarged adrenal glands, reduced thymus weight and a 3.61-fold increase in tumour growth in respect to no-stressed animals. Tumour growth was significantly reduced in mice treated with the β-antagonist propranolol. Tumour samples obtained from stressed mice displayed high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein in immunohistochemistry. Because VEGF can induce eNOS increase, and nitric oxide is a relevant factor in angiogenesis, we assessed the levels of eNOS protein by Western blot analysis. We found a significant increase in eNOS levels in tumour samples from stressed mice, indicating an involvement of this enzyme in stress-induced tumour growth. Accordingly, chronic stress did not promote tumour growth in eNOS(-/-) mice. These results disclose for the first time a pivotal role for eNOS in chronic stress-induced initiation and promotion of tumour growth. |
| |
Keywords: | eNOS melanoma stress NOS isoforms B16F10 |
本文献已被 PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|