Transcription profiling of human HUVECs treated with the angiogenic factors VEGF-A and PlGF in low or high serum media
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ABSTRACT: HUVECs (human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells) are treated with the angiogenic factors VEGF-A (vascular endothelial growth factor-A) and PlGF (placental growth factor) in low or high serum media.
Project description:After menstruation the uterine spiral arteries are repaired through angiogenesis. This process is tightly regulated by the paracrine communication between endometrial stromal cells (EnSCs) and endothelial cells. Any molecular aberration in these processes can lead to complications in pregnancy including miscarriage or pre-eclampsia (PE). Placental growth factor (PlGF) can increase cell stiffness contributing to pathological angiogenesis but the biomechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated whether PlGF contributes to pathological uterine vasculature by disrupting EnSCs and endothelial paracrine communication. We observed that PlGF mediates a tonicity-independent activation of nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5) in EnSCs. NFAT5 activated downstream targets including SGK1, HIF-1α and VEGF-A. In depth characterization of PlGF - conditioned medium (CM) from EnSCs using mass spectrometry and ELISA methods revealed low VEGF-A and an abundance of extracellular matrix organization associated proteins. Secreted factors in PlGF-CM impeded normal angiogenic cues in endothelial cells (HUVECs) by downregulating Notch-VEGF signalling. Interestingly, PlGF-CM failed to support human placental (BeWo) cell invasion through HUVEC monolayer. Inhibition of SGK1 in EnSCs improved angiogenic effects in HUVECs and promoted BeWo invasion, revealing SGK1 as a key intermediate player modulating PlGF mediated anti-angiogenic signalling. Taken together, perturbed PlGF-NFAT5-SGK1 mechano-signaling in the endometrium can contribute to pathological uterine angiogenesis by negatively regulating EnSCs -endothelial crosstalk resulting in poor quality vessels in the uterine microenvironment. Taken together the signaling may impact on normal trophoblast invasion and thus placentation and, may be associated with an increased risk of complications such as PE.
Project description:HUVECs (human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells) are treated with the angiogenic factors VEGF-A (vascular endothelial growth factor-A) and PlGF (placental growth factor) in low or high serum media. Keywords: other
Project description:IL-6 family cytokines as OSM and CNTF modify angiogenesis to different degree. This study investigates to which extend treatment of endothelial cells with those cytokines can modify VEGF induced angiogenic reactions. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were stimulated for 24h by cytokines followed by RNA harvesting and processed for RNA sequencing.
Project description:The role of STAT3 signaling induced by stimulation of IL-6 cytokine family members such as OSM and CNTF on the angiogenic response of endothelial cells is still not fully understood. To assess the impact of this pathway on angiogenesis, this study compares human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with or without STAT3 knock-down introduced by siRNA and stimulation with VEGF, OSM+VEGF and CNTF+VEGF in the presence of the CNTF receptor (CNTFR).
Project description:In order to identify new genes potentially involved in angiogenesis process, we performed a deep-sequencing transcriptome analysis of HUVECs stimulated with recombinant VEGF-A, introducing a difference with respect to the several previous studies. Primary ECs are normally cultured in vitro using an endothelial growth medium (EGM) constituted by an endothelial basal medium (EBM) supplemented with 2% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and a mix of growth factors and reagents, typically represented by basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF), Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF1), Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), heparin, hydrocortisone, ascorbic acid and the same VEGF-A. In previous studies, HUVECs or other primary ECs were starved in EBM with low FBS concentration before the stimulation with VEGF-A. Instead of starvation, we grown HUVECs in complete EGM-2 medium except for VEGF-A to maintain the best condition for in vitro survival and propagation of primary ECs. After 24 hours of VEGF-A deprivation, VEGF-A was re-added to the medium and the stimulation was performed for six hours.
Project description:Specific Aims To identify novel transcriptional events associated with angiogenesis in VEGF and Ang-1 stimulated rat aortic rings. Our studies take advantage of the capacity of rat aortic rings to generate new vessels in collagen gels. Rat aortic rings embedded in collagen gel immediately after excision from the animal produce a self-limited angiogenic response under serum-free conditions and in the absence of exogenous stimuli. This angiogenic response can be dose-dependently promoted by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), which are critical regulators of the angiogenic process during embryonal development and postnatal angiogenesis. Aortic rings lose their capacity to spontaneously generate new vessels if embedded in collagen gels 10-14 days after excision. VEGF has the capacity to turn back “on” these quiescent rings producing florid angiogenesis. Conversely, Ang-1 potentiates an existing angiogenic response, but is unable to turn the quiescent system “on”. Since VEGF-mediated induction of angiogenic sprouting occurs 1-2 days of treatment, we hypothesize that this process is regulated by a unique set of “angiogenesis inducer genes” that are activated by VEGF and not by Ang-1. Identification of the proteins encoded by these genes may advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate the earliest stages of the angiogenic cascade. Keywords: Response to growth factors
Project description:Anti-angiogenic anticancer therapies possess immune-stimulatory properties by counteracting pro-angiogenic molecular mechanisms. We report that tumor endothelial cells ubiquitously overexpress and secrete the intermediate filament protein vimentin through type III unconventional mechanisms. Extracellular vimentin is pro-angiogenic and functionally mimics VEGF action, while concomitantly acting as inhibitor of leukocyte-endothelial interactions. Targeting of extracellular vimentin presents a promising anti-angiogenic immunotherapy strategy against cancer. Here we describe profiling of the HUVEC (Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cell) proteome, with special emphasis on vimentin (variants) in the different fractions. We have evidence that vimentin is externalized and deposited in the matrix of cultured cells and is as such available for targeted antiangiogenic therapeutics. The aim of the experiment is to determine the protein variants of vimentin in the cell, the secretome, and in the matrix deposited by the cells.
Project description:T-helper (Th) cells actively communicate with adjacent cells by secreting soluble mediators, and yet crosstalk between Th cells and endothelial cells is poorly understood. Placental growth factor (PlGF), originally identified in the placenta, is an angiogenic factor homologous to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A. We performed transcriptome analysis to systemically compare the effect of IL6, a key factor in Th cell polarization, and PlGF on T cell functions.
Project description:Angiogenesis is an essential process in human physiology and disease pathology. Particularly, in ischemic disease condition, the proper induction of angiogenesis without vascular leakage will be crucial for its effective therapy. Ginsenosides, triterpenoid saponins from a well-known medicinal plant ginseng, have been considered as a strong candidate for modulating angiogenesis. However, the biologic activity of individual gensenoside compounds and their target pathway have not been elucidated systematically. To find the candidates of vascular-related therapeutic agents, we evaluated in vitro angiogenic efficacy of 10 ginsenosides using tube formation assay with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Among them, F1 and Rh1 showed strong in vitro angiogenic properties including EC tube formation, proliferation, and migration similar to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). However, RNA transcriptome analysis showed that F1 and Rh1 differentially regulate gene expressions in HUVECs compared to VEGF. Not only that, F1 and Rh1 significantly inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced vascular leakage both in vitro and in vivo. From RNA transcriptome analysis, we identified that nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 1 (NR4A1) is regulated by F1 and Rh1 for suppression of VEGF-induced vascular leakage. By suppressing the expression and transcriptional activity of NR4A1, F1 and Rh1 could stabilize the expression and localization of junctional vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin. These findings demonstrate that F1 and Rh1 could be potential compounds in the development of vascular pharmaceuticals.
Project description:Endothelial cells (ECs) are phenotypically heterogeneous mainly due to their dynamic epigenetic status. VEGF, the best-known angiogenic factor, activates calcium-NFAT signalling following acute angiogenic gene transcription. Here, we evaluated the global mapping of VEGF-mediated dynamic transcriptional events with a particular focus on major histone-code profiles using ChIP-seq. Remarkably, the regulatory regions of angiogenic transcription factors exclusively acquired embryonic stem-like bivalent histone marks after the VEGF stimulus. Moreover, the newly discovered NFAT-associated epigenome modifier, PTIP in the COMPASS complex, directed gene transcription via MLL3/4-enrichment which overwhelmed the polycomb-brakes. The non-canonical polycomb1 variant, PRC1.3, specifically bound to and allowed the transactivation of PRC2-enriched bivalent angiogenic genes until conventional PRC1 association and gene silencing. Knockdown of these epigenome modifiers abrogated postnatal aberrant neovessel formation via selective inhibition of acute angiogenic bivalent gene transcription. Collectively, the reported dynamic epigenome landscape in ECs may support the development of advanced therapeutic strategies against various vasculopathies.