Project description:Pericytes are integral components of the tissue vasculature and have essential functions in tumour angiogenesis. Endosialin (CD248) is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein highly expressed on pericytes in the tumour vasculature of most solid tumours, however it is low or negligibly expressed on normal tissue pericytes. Experiments using wild-type and endosialin-knockout mice has revealed that stromal endosialin expression facilitates intravasation of tumor cells from the primary tumor into the circulation, thereby promoting metastatic dissemination. BALB/c Ub-GFP wild-type and endosialin-knockout mice were inoculated with 67NR tumor cells. Tumor pericytes and tumor endothelial cells were isolated from primary tumors by FACSorting and total RNA was extracted from freshly isolated (i.e. without in vitro culture) cell populations.
Project description:This study aims to investigate differentially expressed proteins in tumor pericytes with or without TCAF2-ovexpression. Tumor pericytes were isolated from tumor of patients with colorectal cancer. Then, tumor pericytes were cultured, transfected with vector or TCAF2 overexpressing plasmid. Top ten cytokines were screened and Wnt5a was the most significant one.
Project description:This study aims to investigate differentially expressed proteins in tumor pericytes derived from colorectal cancer patients with or without liver metastasis. Tumor pericytes were isolated from tumor of colorectal cancer patients with or without liver metastasis. Then, tumor pericytes were cultured and subjected to proteomic analysis. TCAF2 was significantly increased in tumor pericytes from liver metastasis patients.
Project description:Pericytes are integral components of the tissue vasculature and have essential functions in tumour angiogenesis. Endosialin (CD248) is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein highly expressed on pericytes in the tumour vasculature of most solid tumours, however it is low or negligibly expressed on normal tissue pericytes. Experiments using wild-type and endosialin-knockout mice has revealed that stromal endosialin expression facilitates intravasation of tumor cells from the primary tumor into the circulation, thereby promoting metastatic dissemination.
Project description:Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) is caused by loss-of-function mutations in CCM1, CCM2, or CCM3 genes of endothelial cells. It is characterized by pericyte deficiency. However, the role of pericytes in CCMs remains poorly understood. Our study showed that pericytes in Cdh5CreERT2; Ccm1fl/fl (Ccm1ECKO) mice were high expression of PDGFRβ. The inhibition of pericyte function by CP-673451 aggravated the CCM lesion development. RNA-seq analysis revealed the molecular traits of pericytes, such as highly expressed ECM-related genes, especially Fn1. Furthermore, KLF4 coupled with phosphorylated SMAD3 promoted the transcription of fibronectin in pericytes of CCM lesions. RGDS peptide, an inhibitor of fibronectin, decreased the lesion area in the cerebella and retinas of Ccm1ECKO mice. Also, human CCM lesions had abundant fibronectin deposition, and pSMAD3- and KLF4-positive pericytes. The current data demonstrated that pericytes are essential for CCM lesion development, and fibronectin intervention may provide a novel target for therapeutic intervention in such patients.
Project description:Brain metastasis of lung cancer causes high mortality, but the exact mechanisms underlying the metastasis remain unclear. Here we report that vascular pericytes derived from CD44+ lung cancer stem cells (CSCs) in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) potently cause brain metastases through GPR124-mediated trans-endothelial migration (TEM). CD44+ CSCs in the perivascular niche generate the majority of vascular pericytes in lung ADC. CSC-derived pericyte-like cells (Cd-pericytes) exhibit remarkable TEM capacity to effectively intravasate into vessel lumina, survive in the circulation, extravasate into the brain parenchyma, and then de-differentiate into tumorigenic CSCs to form metastases. Moreover, Cd-pericytes uniquely express GPR124, a G-protein-coupled receptor. GPR124 mediates through Wnt7-β-Catenin activation to enhance TEM capacity of Cd-pericytes for intravasation and extravasation, two critical steps during tumor metastasis. Furthermore, selective disruption of Cd-pericytes, GPR124 or Wnt7-β-Catenin signaling markedly reduced brain and liver metastases of lung ADC. Our findings uncover an unappreciated cellular and molecular paradigm driving tumor metastasis.
