title: PTEN modulates vascular endothelial growth factor-mediated signaling and angiogenic effects.
abstract: Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is activated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and many of the angiogenic cellular responses of VEGF are regulated by the lipid products of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. The tumor suppressor PTEN has been shown to down-regulate phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling, yet the effects of PTEN on VEGF-mediated signaling and angiogenesis are unknown. Inhibition of endogenous PTEN in cultured endothelial cells by adenovirus-mediated overexpression of a dominant negative PTEN mutant (PTEN-C/S) enhanced VEGF-mediated Akt phosphorylation, and this effect correlated with decreases in caspase-3 cleavage, caspase-3 activity, and DNA degradation after induction of apoptosis with tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Overexpression of PTEN-C/S also enhanced VEGF-mediated endothelial cell proliferation and migration. In contrast, overexpression of wild-type PTEN inhibited the anti-apoptotic, proliferative, and chemotactic effects of VEGF. Moreover, PTEN-C/S increased the length of vascular sprouts in the rat aortic ring assay and modulated VEGF-mediated tube formation in an in vitro angiogenesis assay, whereas PTEN-wild type inhibited these effects. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that PTEN potently modulates VEGF-mediated signaling and function and that PTEN is a viable target in therapeutic approaches to promote or inhibit angiogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology and Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Kontos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors / Q000502:physiology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
chemical_list: D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors; D008222:Lymphokines; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; C494929:PTEN protein, human