Endothelial Cords Promote Tumor Initial Growth prior to Vascular Function through a Paracrine Mechanism.

ABSTRACT: The angiogenic switch is an important oncogenic step that determines whether microtumors remain dormant or progresses further. It has been generally perceived that the primary function of this tumorgenic event is to supply oxygen and nutrients through blood circulation. Using in vivo imaging of zebrafish and mouse tumor models, we showed that endothelial cords aggressively penetrated into microtumors and remained non-circulatory for several days before undergoing vascular blood perfusion. Unexpectedly, we found that initial tumor growth in both models was significantly reduced if endothelial cords were removed by blocking VEGF-VEGFR2 signaling or using a vascular deficient zebrafish mutant. It was further shown that soluble factors including IL-8, secreted by endothelial cells (ECs) were r

SUBMITTER: Zhao C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4725875 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature