Intestinal and peri-tumoral lymphatic endothelial cells are resistant to radiation-induced apoptosis.
Radiation therapy is a widely used cancer treatment, but it is unable to completely block cancer metastasis. The lymphatic vasculature serves as the primary route for metastatic spread, but little is known about how lymphatic endothelial cells respond to radiation. Here, we show that lymphatic endothelial cells in the small intestine and peri-tumor areas are highly resistant to radiation injury, while blood vessel endothelial cells in the small intestine are relatively sensitive. Our results suggest the need for alternative therapeutic modalities that can block lymphatic endothelial cell survival, and thus disrupt the integrity of lymphatic vessels in peri-tumor areas.
Sung
Hoon Ki
HK
Biomedical Research Center and Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
Morisada
Tohru
T
Cho
Chung-Hyun
CH
Oike
Yuichi
Y
Lee
Jayhun
J
Sung
Eon Ki
EK
Chung
Jae Hoon
JH
Suda
Toshio
T
Koh
Gou Young
GY
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000528:radiation effects*; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D007414:Intestinal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D042601:Lymphatic Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008819:Mice, Nude; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured