Environmental chemicals may affect human health by disrupting endocrine function. Their possible role in the mammary gland and breast tumors is still unknown. Previous studies have demonstrated that ...vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a key factor in angiogenesis and tumor progression, is an estrogen-regulated gene. We analyzed whether VEGF expression is regulated by different xenoestrogens in several breast cancer cells, MELN (derived from MCF-7) and MELP (derived from MDA-MB-231) and stably expressing estrogen receptor α (ERα); these cell lines stably express estrogen response element (β-globin)-luciferase. Genistein, bisphenol A (BPA), 4-(tert-octyl)phenol (OP), dieldrin, and several phthalates, including benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) and di-ethyl-2-hexyle phthalate (DEHP), were first shown to be estrogenic. These compounds induced a dose-dependent increase of VEGF secretion in MELN and MCF-7 cells; maximal effect was observed at 1–10 μM non-cytotoxic concentrations and was inhibited by the antiestrogen ICI 182 780. VEGF increase was not observed in ERα-negative MDA-MB-231 cells. Most substances increased VEGF transcript levels in MELN cells. In contrast, γ-hexachlorocyclohexane, vinclozolin, and the phthalates (mono-n-butyl ester phthalic acid, di-isononyle phthalate, and di-isodecyle phthalate) were ineffective on both VEGF secretion and estrogenic luciferase induction in these cell lines. Specific kinase inhibitors PD98059, SB203580, or LY294002 suppressed the xenoestrogen-induced VEGF response, suggesting activation of MEK, p38 kinase, and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase pathways. Our in vitro results show for the first time that genistein and xenoestrogens (BPA, OP, dieldrin, BBP, and DEHP at high concentrations) up-regulate VEGF expression in MELN cells by an ER-dependent mechanism. Since VEGF increases capillary permeability and breast tumor angiogenesis in vivo, the physiological relevance of these findings is discussed.
Some cancers such as sarcomas (bone and soft tissue sarcomas) and adenoid cystic carcinomas are considered as radioresistant to low linear energy transfer radiation (including photons and protons) ...and may therefore beneficiate from a carbon ion therapy. Despite encouraging results obtained in phase I/II trials compared to historical data with photons, the spread of carbon ions has been limited mainly because of the absence of randomized medical data. The French health authorities stressed the importance of having randomized data for carbon ion therapy.
The ETOILE study is a multicenter prospective randomized phase III trial comparing carbon ion therapy to either advanced photon or proton radiotherapy for inoperable or macroscopically incompletely resected (R2) radioresistant cancers including sarcomas and adenoid cystic carcinomas. In the experimental arm, carbon ion therapy will be performed at the National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO) in Pavia, Italy. In the control arm, photon or proton radiotherapy will be carried out in referent centers in France. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints are overall survival and local control, toxicity profile, and quality of life. In addition, a prospective health-economic study and a radiobiological analysis will be conducted. To demonstrate an absolute improvement in the 5-year PFS rate of 20% in favor of carbon ion therapy, 250 patients have to be included in the study.
So far, no clinical study of phase III has demonstrated the superiority of carbon ion therapy compared to conventional radiotherapy, including proton therapy, for the treatment of radioresistant tumors.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02838602 . Date of registration: July 20, 2016. The posted information will be updated as needed to reflect protocol amendments and study progress.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A comprehensive clinical and microbiological assessments of COVID-19 in front-line healthcare workers (HCWs) is needed. Between April 10th and May 28th, 2020, 319 HCWs with acute illness were ...reviewed. In addition to SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR screening, a multiplex molecular panel was used for testing other respiratory pathogens. For SARS-CoV-2 positive HCWs, the normalized viral load, viral culture, and virus neutralization assays were performed weekly. For SARS-CoV-2 negative HCWs, SARS-CoV-2 serological testing was performed one month after inclusion. Among the 319 HCWs included, 67 (21.0%) were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2; 65/67 (97.0%) developed mild form of COVID-19. Other respiratory pathogens were found in 6/66 (9.1%) SARS-CoV-2 positive and 47/241 (19.5%) SARS-Cov-2 negative HCWs (p = 0.07). The proportion of HCWs with a viral load > 5.0 log10 cp/mL (Ct value < 25) was less than 15% at 8 days after symptom onset; 12% of HCWs were positive after 40 days (Ct > 37). More than 90% of cultivable virus had a viral load > 4.5 log10 cp/mL (Ct < 26) and were collected within 10 days after symptom onset. Among negative HCWs, 6/190 (3.2%) seroconverted. Our data suggest that the determination of viral load can be used for appreciating the infectiousness of infected HCWs. These data could be helpful for facilitating their return to work.
Full text
Available for:
IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a multifunctional cytokine that has important roles in angiogenesis. Our knowledge of the significance of VEGF isoforms in human cancer remains ...incomplete.
Bioluminescence imaging and transcriptomic analysis were used to study the colonisation capacity of the human breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 controlling or overexpressing the VEGF165 or VEGF189 isoform (named cV-B, V165-B and V189-B, respectively) in nude mice.
When injected into the bloodstream, V189-B cells induced less metastasis in the lungs and bone than V165-B and cV-B control cells, consistent with longer survival of these mice and delay in tumour uptake in the mice injected with a V189-B clone. Histological analysis confirmed that there were less αSMA-positive cells in the lungs of the mice injected with V189-B. In vitro V189-B cells decreased both cell invasion and survival. Using transcriptomic analysis, we identified a subset of 18 genes expressed differentially between V189 and V165 cell lines and in 120 human breast tumours. V165 was associated with poor prognosis, whereas V189 was not, suggesting a complex regulation by VEGF isoforms. Our results showed a negative correlation between the expression pattern of VEGF189 and the levels of expression of seven genes that influence metastasis.
Our findings provide the first evidence that VEGF isoforms have different effects on breast cancer cell line colonisation in vivo.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
A key mechanism underlying physiological angiogenesis of the human endometrium is its ability to regenerate the vascular capillary network and to perform vascular remodeling (i.e., development of ...spiral arteries). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is associated with angiogenesis and capillary permeability in this tissue. VEGF is expressed as several spliced variants, its main human isoforms contain 121 and 165 aa; 17β-estradiol (E2) increases endometrial VEGF, possibly in all isoforms. Here we show that progesterone (P) selectively increases the expression of the $VEGF_{189}\>(V_{189})$ isoform in the human uterus. V189 is identified in the conditioned medium of stromal cells treated with E2 + P; its presence in this in vitro model of decidual stromal cells is detected after 6-8 days, using ELISA, and after 8-10 days, using Western blot analysis with different antibodies, including one specific for V189. The secretion pattern of V189 parallels that of the decidual protein IGFBP-1. V189 is secreted as a native isoform, as compared with the migration of recombinant V189 by SDS/PAGE. In situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry, performed on the same biopsies, suggest that decidual cells express V189 during the midlate secretory phase of the menstrual cycle and early gestation. Finally, using an in vivo permeability assay, we show that native V189 increases capillary permeability. These observations demonstrate that P regulates V189 expression in decidual cells, which could have important implications for understanding uterine vascular remodeling and implantation, and may be relevant in a range of disease states such as edema and irregular bleeding.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a critical factor for development of the vascular system in physiological and pathological angiogenesis. This growth factor exists under at least ...three isoforms, VEGF120/121, VEGF164/165 and VEGF188/189 which are generated by alternative splicing. VEGF isoforms have different affinities for heparan sulphate as well as for VEGF receptors, and may play distinct roles in vascular development. The role of VEGF189 as an endothelial mitogen, however, remains controversial. VEGF189 is almost entirely bound to the cell surface or extracellular matrix, and is considered active after its cleavage and release from its extracellular binding site. In the present study, we demonstrate that VEGF189 induces endothelial cell proliferation and migration in vitro. The 30–60% increase observed with VEGF189 (10 ng/ml) in HUVEC proliferation was similar to that observed with VEGF165. However, the proliferative effect observed with VEGF189 appeared dependent on the origin of the endothelial cell, since the proliferation was clearly observed with HUVEC but not with BAEC or capillary endothelial cells from dermis (HMEC). The effect of VEGF189 on endothelial cell migration was also analyzed using the wound healing and the Boyden chamber assays. The migration effect was observed with BAEC which do not proliferate with VEGF189, suggesting that different mechanisms are involved in proliferation and migration. In addition, VEGF189 as well as VEGF165 induced a 2-fold increase of Flk-1/KDR expression in HUVEC, the receptor involved in proliferation and migration of endothelial cells. In the Matrigel plug assay in vivo, both VEGF189 and 165 (100 ng/ml) increased the infiltration of endothelial cells. These data suggest that VEGF189 induced endothelial cell migration and proliferation under certain circumstances.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The existence of multiple VEGF-A isoforms raised the possibility that they may have distinct functions in tumor growth. We have previously published that VEGF189 and VEGF165 contribute to breast ...cancer progression and angiogenesis, but VEGF165 induced the most rapid tumor uptake. Since VEGF165 has been described as a survival factor for breast tumor cells, we questioned here the effects of VEGF189 on the survival/apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 cells. We used clones which overexpress VEGF189 (V189) or VEGF165 (V165) isoforms and compared them to a control one (cV). Overexpression of VEGF189 resulted in increased cell apoptosis, as determined by Annexin-V apoptosis assay, under serum starvation and doxorubicin treatment, while VEGF 165 was confirmed to be a survival factor. Since MDA-MB-231 highly express NRP1 (a co-receptor for VEGF-A), we used short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to knockdown NRP1 expression. V189shNRP1 clones were characterized by reduced apoptosis and higher necrosis, as compared to V189shCtl, under stress conditions. Unexpectedly, NRP1 knock-down had no effect on the survival or apoptosis of V165 cells. VEGF189 showed greater affinity towards NRP1 than VEGF165 using a BIAcore binding assay. Finally, since endogenously produced urokinase-type plasminogen (uPA) has been found to prevent apoptosis in breast cancers, we analyzed the level of uPA activity in our clones. An inhibition of uPA activity was observed in V189shNRP1 clones. Altogether, these results suggest a major role of NRP1 in apoptosis induced by VEGF189 in stress conditions and confirm VEGF165 as a survival factor.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is essential for breast cancer progression and is a relevant target in anti-angiogenesis. Although VEGF121 and VEGF165, the fully or partially secreted ...isoforms, respectively, have been the focus of intense studies, the role of the cell-associated VEGF189 isoform is not understood. To clarify the contribution of VEGF189 to human mammary carcinogenesis, we established several clones of MDA-MB-231 cells stably overexpressing VEGF189 (V189) and VEGF165 (V165). V189 and V165 clones increased tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo . Remarkably, V165 induced the most rapid tumor uptake, whereas V189 increased vasodilation. In vitro overexpression of VEGF165 and VEGF189 increases the proliferation and chemokinesis of these cancer cells. Interestingly, overexpression of VEGF189 increased cell adhesion on fibronectin (1.9-fold) and vitronectin (1.6-fold), as compared to VEGF165, through α5β1 and αvβ5 integrins. Using the BIACore system we demonstrated for the first time that VEGF189 binds directly to neuropilin-1, which is strongly expressed in MDA-MB-231 cells. In contrast, VEGF-R2 was not significantly expressed and VEGF-R1 was expressed at low level. Our in vitro results suggest an autocrine effect of VEGF189 on breast cancer cells, probably through neuropilin-1. In conclusion, our data indicate that VEGF189 participates in mammary tumor growth through both angiogenesis and nonangiogenic functions. Whether VEGF189 overexpression is correlated to prognosis in human breast tumors remains to be established.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
PDF
