Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P39060 (endostatin)
2,284 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We report on the isolation of mouse cDNA clones which encode a collagenous sequence designated here as the alpha 1 chain of type XVIII collagen. The overlapping clones cover 2.8 kilobases and encode an open reading frame of 928 amino acid residues comprising a putative signal peptide of 25 residues, an amino-terminal noncollagenous domain of 301 residues, and a primarily collagenous stretch of 602 residues. The clones do not cover the carboxyl-terminal end of the polypeptide, since the translation stop codon is absent. Characteristic of the deduced polypeptide is the possession of eight noncollagenous interruptions varying in length from 10 to 24 residues in the collagenous amino acid sequence. Other features include the presence of several putative sites for both N-linked glycosylation and O-linked glycosaminoglycan attachment and homology of the amino-terminal noncollagenous domain with thrombospondin. It is of particular interest that five of the eight collagenous sequences of type XVIII show homology to the previously reported type XV collagen, suggesting that the two form a distinct subgroup among the diverse family of collagens. Northern blot hybridization analysis revealed a striking tissue distribution for type XVIII collagen mRNAs, as the clones hybridized strongly with mRNAs of 4.3 and 5.3 kilobases that were present only in lung and liver of the eight mouse tissues studied.
...
PMID:Alpha 1(XVIII), a collagen chain with frequent interruptions in the collagenous sequence, a distinct tissue distribution, and homology with type XV collagen. 818 94

Tumors do not grow without inducing a new vessel formation. The postulation of Dr. Folkman in 1971-that tumor growth is angiogenesis-dependent-has been widely accepted, more than two decades later. The question now becomes, "Is it possible to treat cancer by attacking its blood supply?" Many pharmaceutical companies directed their research to antiangiogenic therapy in the past years. Despite increasing knowledge of tumor-induced angiogenesis, the mechanism as to how antiangiogenic agents inhibit new vessel formation remains unknown. Even the mechanisms of two of the most potent preclinical antiangiogenic drugs, angiostatin and endostatin, are still unknown. Many factors are involved in new vessel formation and experimental models are not sophisticated enough to take into account all factors that play a role in spontaneously occurring tumors. Translational research from the clinic to the laboratory is warranted for the discovery of new potent antiangiogenic agents. Our translational angiogenesis research started two years ago, when we hypothesized that circulating concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an important angiogenic factor, if initially elevated, would decrease during therapy in cancer patients. Until then, several investigators tried to correlate serum concentrations of VEGF with the prognosis of cancer patients. Fascinatingly, we found a specific pattern of VEGF concentrations that correlated exactly with the platelet counts of these patients during therapy. No relationship with tumor burden was detected, indicating that circulating levels of VEGF are not influenced by tumor cells, but are mainly dependent on platelet contents. In addition, it was shown by others that thrombin activation of platelets causes VEGF release.What then is the role of circulating VEGF carried by platelets? VEGF has been shown to induce permeability, has mitogenic and chemotactic activity on endothelial cells, and also has procoagulatory activity. Platelets play a critical role in wound healing and, if they are activated, they release upon activation, in addition to VEGF, other growth factors that are involved in angiogenesis (e.g., platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor, thrombospondin, and platelet factor 4). On the other hand, in the clinic it was found that platelet counts have prognostic significance for cancer patients and that coagulation abnormalities are regularly found in cancer patients. In preclinical studies the tumor-platelet interactions have been studied extensively and a relationship between metastasis formation and platelet-tumor interaction has been reported. We are currently investigating whether a specific tumor endothelium-platelet interaction can contribute to tumor-induced angiogenesis.Although these translational studies have no direct impact on clinical cancer therapy, oncologists should be aware of a potential role for platelets in cancer growth. For example, bone marrow-supportive agents, currently used in high-dose chemotherapy, contribute to platelet production and thereby may influence response to therapy. At this time we investigate in our hospital the pretreatment platelet counts in cancer patients, and we are studying how bone marrow-supportive agents during chemotherapy affect these counts in relation to the response to therapy. We would be pleased to learn of your observations.
...
PMID:Tumor Growth: A Putative Role for Platelets? 1038 96

We have studied two related proteins that contain a repeated amino acid motif homologous to the anti-angiogenic type 1 repeats of thrombospondin-1 (TSP1). Complete sequence analysis revealed no other similarities with TSP1, but identified unique signal sequences, as well as metalloprotease and disintegrin-like domains in the NH(2) termini. We named these proteins METH-1 and METH-2 due to the novel combination of metalloprotease and thrombospondin domains. Overall amino acid sequence identity between METH-1 and METH-2 is 51. 7%, yet transcript distribution revealed non-overlapping patterns of expression in tissues and cultured cell lines. To characterize these proteins functionally, we isolated full-length cDNAs, produced recombinant protein, and generated antisera to the recombinant proteins. Both METH-1 and METH-2 represent single copy genes, which encode secreted and proteolytically processed proteins. METH proteins suppressed fibroblast growth factor-2-induced vascularization in the cornea pocket assay and inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor-induced angiogenesis in the chorioallantoic membrane assay. Suppression of vessel growth in both assays was considerably greater than that mediated by either thrombospondin-1 or endostatin on a molar basis. Consistent with an endothelial specific response, METH-1 and METH-2 were shown to inhibit endothelial cell proliferation, but not fibroblast or smooth muscle growth. We propose that METH-1 and METH-2 represent a new family of proteins with metalloprotease, disintegrin, and thrombospondin domains. The distinct distribution of each gene product suggests that each has evolved distinct regulatory mechanisms that potentially allow for fine control of activity during distinct physiological and pathological states.
...
PMID:METH-1, a human ortholog of ADAMTS-1, and METH-2 are members of a new family of proteins with angio-inhibitory activity. 1043 12

There is growing evidence that anti-angiogenic drugs will improve future therapies of diseases like cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and ocular neovascularisation. However, it is still uncertain which kind of substance, out of the large number of angiogenesis inhibitors, will prove to be a suitable agent to treat these human diseases. There are currently more than 30 angiogenesis inhibitors in clinical trials and a multitude of promising new candidates are under investigation in vitro and in animal models. Important therapeutic strategies are: suppression of activity of the major angiogenic regulators like vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF); inhibition of function of alphav-integrins and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs); the exploitation of endogenous anti-angiogenic molecules like angiostatin, endostatin or thrombospondin. Given the wide spectrum of diseases which could be treated by anti-angiogenic compounds, it is important for today's clinicians to understand their essential mode of action at a cellular and molecular level. Here we give an in-depth overview of the basic pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the different anti-angiogenic approaches used to date based on the most recent fundamental and clinical research data. The angiogenesis inhibitors in clinical trials are presented and promising future drug candidates are discussed.
...
PMID:Target molecules for anti-angiogenic therapy: from basic research to clinical trials. 1079 35

Endostatin, a fragment of the COOH-terminal domain of mouse collagen XVIII is a recently demonstrated endogenous inhibitor of tumor angiogenesis and endothelial cell growth. Antiangiogenic therapy with endostatin in animals requires multiple and prolonged administration of the protein. Gene therapy could provide an alternative approach to continuous local delivery of this antiangiogenic factor in vivo. Established MCa-4 murine mammary carcinomas, grown in immunodeficient mice, were treated with intratumoral injection of endostatin plasmid at 7-day intervals. At the time of sacrifice, 14 days after the first injection, endostatin-treated tumor weights were 51% of controls (P < 0.01). Tumor growth inhibition was accompanied by a marked reduction in total vascular density. Specifically, computerized image analysis showed a 18-21% increase in the median distances between tumor cells and both the nearest anatomical (CD31-stained) vessel [48.1 +/- 3.8 versus 38.3 +/- 1.6 microm (P < 0.05)] and the nearest tumor-specific (CD105-stained) vessel [48.5 +/- 1.5 versus 39.8 +/- 1.5 microm (P < 0.01)]. An increased apoptotic index of tumor cells in endostatin-treated tumors [3.2 +/- 0.5% versus 1.9 +/- 0.3% (P < 0.05)] was observed in conjunction with a significant decrease in tumor perfused vessels (DiOC7 staining), and an increase in tumor cell hypoxia (EF5 staining). Hypoxia resulting from endostatin therapy most likely caused a compensatory increase of in situ vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF receptor mRNA expression. Increased immunoreactivity of endostatin staining in endostatin-treated tumors was also associated with an increased thrombospondin-1 staining [1.12 +/- 0.16 versus 2.44 +/- 0.35]. Our data suggest that intratumoral delivery of the endostatin gene efficiently suppresses murine mammary carcinoma growth and support the potential utility of the endostatin gene for cancer therapy.
...
PMID:Intratumoral administration of endostatin plasmid inhibits vascular growth and perfusion in MCa-4 murine mammary carcinomas. 1121 45

Initial work has shown that clonal B cells from B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) are able to synthesize pro-angiogenic molecules. In this study, our goal was to study the spectrum of angiogenic factors and receptors expressed in the CLL B cell. We used ELISA assays to determine the levels of basic fibroblast growth factors (bFGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), endostatin, interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) and thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) secreted into culture medium by purified CLL B cells. These data demonstrated that CLL B cells spontaneously secrete a variety of pro- and anti-angiogenic factors, including bFGF (23.9 pg/ml +/- 7.9; mean +/- s.e.m.), VEGF (12.5 pg/ml +/- 2.3) and TSP-1 (1.9 ng/ml +/- 0.3). Out of these three factors, CLL B cells consistently secreted bFGF and TSP-1, while VEGF was expressed in approximately two-thirds of CLL patients. Of interest, hypoxic conditions dramatically upregulated VEGF expression at both the mRNA and protein levels. We also employed ribonuclease protection assays to assay CLL B cell expression of a variety of other angiogenesis-related molecules. These analyses revealed that CLL B cells consistently express mRNA for VEGF receptor 1 (VEGFR1), thrombin receptor, endoglin, and angiopoietin. Further analysis of VEGFR expression by RT-PCR revealed that CLL B cells expressed both VEGFR1 mRNA and VEGFR2 mRNA. In summary, these data collectively indicate that CLL B cells express both pro- and anti-angiogenic molecules and several vascular factor receptors. Because of the co-expression of angiogenic molecules and receptors for some of these molecules, these data suggest that the biology of the leukemic cells may also be directly impacted by angiogenic factors as a result of autocrine pathways of stimulation.
...
PMID:B-CLL cells are capable of synthesis and secretion of both pro- and anti-angiogenic molecules. 1198 54

The prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still remains dismal, although many advances in its clinical study have been made. It is important for tumor control to identify the factors that predispose patients to death. With new discoveries in cancer biology, the pathological and biological prognostic factors of HCC have been studied quite extensively. Analyzing molecular markers (biomarkers) with prognostic significance is a complementary method. A large number of molecular factors have been shown to associate with the invasiveness of HCC, and have potential prognostic significance. One important aspect is the analysis of molecular markers for the cellular malignancy phenotype. These include alterations in DNA ploidy, cellular proliferation markers (PCNA, Ki-67, Mcm2, MIB1, MIA, and CSE1L/CAS protein), nuclear morphology, the p53 gene and its related molecule MD M2, other cell cycle regulators (cyclin A, cyclin D, cyclin E, cdc2, p27, p73), oncogenes and their receptors (such as ras, c-myc, c-fms, HGF, c-met, and erb-B receptor family members), apoptosis related factors (Fas and FasL), as well as telomerase activity. Another important aspect is the analysis of molecular markers involved in the process of cancer invasion and metastasis. Adhesion molecules (E-cadherin, catenins, serum intercellular adhesion molecule-1, CD44 variants), proteinases involved in the degradation of extracellular matrix (MMP-2, MMP-9, uPA, uPAR, PAI), as well as other molecules have been regarded as biomarkers for the malignant phenotype of HCC, and are related to prognosis and therapeutic outcomes. Tumor angiogenesis is critical to both the growth and metastasis of cancers including HCC, and has drawn much attention in recent years. Many angiogenesis-related markers, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF), thrombospondin (TSP), angiogenin, pleiotrophin, and endostatin (ES) levels, as well as intratumor microvessel density (MVD) have been evaluated and found to be of prognostic significance. Body fluid (particularly blood and urinary) testing for biomarkers is easily accessible and useful in clinical patients. The prognostic significance of circulating DNA in plasma or serum, and its genetic alterations in HCC are other important trends. More attention should be paid to these two areas in future. As the progress of the human genome project advances, so does a clearer understanding of tumor biology, and more and more new prognostic markers with high sensitivity and specificity will be found and used in clinical assays. However, the combination of some items, i.e., the pathological features and some biomarkers mentioned above, seems to be more practical for now.
...
PMID:The prognostic molecular markers in hepatocellular carcinoma. 1204 56

The process of angiogenesis plays an important role in many physiological and pathological conditions. Inhibition of endothelial cell (EC) apoptosis providing EC survival is thought to be an essential mechanism during angiogenesis. Many of the angiogenic growth factors inhibit EC apoptosis. In addition, the adhesion of ECs to the extracellular matrix or intercellular adhesion promotes EC survival. In contrast, increasing evidence suggests that the induction of EC apoptosis may counteract angiogenesis. In this review, we focus on the regulation of EC survival and apoptosis during angiogenesis and especially on the effects and intracellular signaling promoted by angiogenic growth factors, endogenous angiogenic inhibitors (such as angiostatin, endostatin, and thrombospondin-1), and the adhesion to the extracellular matrix. Furthermore, we discuss the effects of cross talk between adhesion molecules and growth factors. Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of EC survival and apoptosis may provide new targets for the development of new therapies to enhance angiogenesis in the case of tissue-ischemia (eg, the neovascularization of myocardium) or to inhibit angiogenesis in the case of neovascularization-dependent disease (eg, tumor, diabetic retinopathy).
...
PMID:Regulation of endothelial cell survival and apoptosis during angiogenesis. 1206 94

The interaction between cancer cells and their microenvironment is a promising area for the development of novel therapeutic anti-cancer modalities. The formation of new blood vessels, angiogenesis, is an important step in cancer progression. Angiogenesis is a complex multistep process involving close orchestration of endothelial cells, extracellular matrix, and soluble factors. Essentially every step has been found to be regulated by inducers and inhibitors. Prostate cancer has the ability to produce angiogenic factors such as metalloproteinases, vascular endothelial growth factor, fibroblast growth factor 2, transforming growth factor-beta and cyclooxygenase-2. In several studies in prostate cancer an increased microvessel density is associated with poorer prognosis. On the other hand several endogenous inhibitors of angiogenesis have been described in prostate cancer e.g., angiostatin, endostatin, prostate specific antigen (PSA), thrombospondin-1, interleukin 10, interferons and retinoids. The expanding insight in the process of angiogenesis has resulted in a large number of pharmaceutical agents that have been tested in preclinical studies and are currently tested in clinical trials. These agents inhibit endothelial cell proliferation or migration and induce apoptosis. This ultimately will affect the formation of new vessels thereby inducing tumor dormancy. Because antiangiogenic treatment is cytostatic rather than cytotoxic, patients will need long-term therapy to prevent regrowth of the tumor. Prostate cancer is an ideal tumor for antiangiogenic studies because of the availability of a reliable tumor marker, PSA, the indolent clinical course of this cancer and the low rate of proliferation even in metastatic sites. Furthermore, clinical studies showed limited side effects, which is advantageous in this elderly patient group. Whether the ultimate antiangiogenic treatment is effective as a single agent or in combination with radiation therapy, chemotherapy or immunotherapy remains to be determined.
...
PMID:Angiogenesis in prostate cancer: its role in disease progression and possible therapeutic approaches. 1243 18

Angiogenesis, an essential phenotype for tumor formation, requires the interaction of many cells within the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, successful antiangiogenic therapies must be able to block all of the different mechanisms tumors use to induce neovascularization. A major challenge for developing such protocols is determining which agents are likely to have the highest degree of synergistic activity in vivo. We treated human microvascular endothelial cells with six inhibitors of angiogenesis and used microarrays to seek divergent patterns of gene expression suggestive of potential synergies. The expression profiles of a thrombospondin-mimetic peptide (DI-TSPa) and TNP-470 (TNP) were very similar, whereas endostatin had a dramatically different profile. In vitro, endostatin was synergistically antiangiogenic with either TNP-470 or DI-TSPa. In vivo, mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma cells treated with a combination of endostatin and either DI-TSPa or TNP-470, at doses that were ineffective when used alone, resulted in a marked inhibition of tumor growth and decreased tumor angiogenesis. Conversely, animals treated with both DI-TSPa and TNP-470 demonstrated a modest effect on both tumor growth and angiogenesis. These results suggest that even in the absence of a complete mechanistic understanding of how these inhibitors work, gene expression profiling may be used to predict synergistic antiangiogenic activity and thus maximize their antitumor efficacy.
...
PMID:Prediction of in vivo synergistic activity of antiangiogenic compounds by gene expression profiling. 1249 46


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next >>