title: Pathological angiogenesis facilitates tumor cell dissemination and metastasis.
abstract: Clinically detectable metastases represent an ultimate consequence of the metastatic cascade that consists of distinct processes including tumor cell invasion, dissemination, metastatic niche formation, and re-growth into a detectable metastatic mass. Although angiogenesis is known to promote tumor growth, its role in facilitating early events of the metastatic cascade remains poorly understood. We have recently developed a zebrafish tumor model that enables us to study involvement of pathological angiogenesis in tumor invasion, dissemination and metastasis. This non-invasive in vivo model allows detection of single malignant cell dissemination under both normoxia and hypoxia. Further, hypoxia-induced VEGF significantly facilitates tumor cell invasion and dissemination. These findings demonstrate that VEGF-induced pathological angiogenesis is essential for tumor dissemination and further corroborates potentially beneficial effects of clinically ongoing anti-VEGF drugs for the treatment of various malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Pegah
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rouhi
authors.forename: Samantha Lin Chiou
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ziquan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Eva-Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Hedlund
authors.forename: Lasse Dahl
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: Yihai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000860:Hypoxia; D023421:Models, Animal; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A