title: Heme oxygenase-1 promotes angiogenesis in urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder.
abstract: Angiogenesis is necessary for the growth, invasion, and metastasis of solid tumors. Previous studies have shown that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) plays an important role in angiogenesis in both normal and cancerous cells, such as vascular endothelial cells and pancreatic cancer cells, respectively. In this study, we analyzed the role of HO-1 and other angiogenic factors in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Specifically, we used real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blotting to investigate the upregulation of 7 angiogenic factors, namely, HO-1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, HIF-2α, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) under hypoxic conditions in the T24 urothelial carcinoma cell line. We also used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure the amount of VEGF secreted into the growth media. In addition, we administered an HO-1 inhibitor, zinc protoporphyrin IX, to mice with subcutaneous T24 tumors to assess the modulation of angiogenesis in solid tumors in vivo. We also performed immunohistochemical analyses of 23 primary bladder cancer specimens with high-grade tumors infiltrating into the stroma (pT1) for expression of HO-1, VEGF, HIF-1α, HIF-2α, COX-2, and CD31. Image analysis of CD31 staining was performed to estimate microvessel density (MVD), a measure of angiogenesis. Hypoxic conditions induced upregulation of HO-1, VEGF, HIF-1α, HIF-2α, and COX-2 in T24 cells and increased VEGF secretion, which could be suppressed by zinc protoporphyrin IX. In vivo, inhibition of HO-1 decreased tumor growth and MVD by suppressing angiogenic factors, particularly VEGF and HIF-1α. In clinical specimens of bladder cancer, high expression of HO-1 was correlated with high expression of HIF-1α (P=0.027) and high MVD (P=0.005), but not with VEGF expression (P=0.19). In conclusion, since overexpression of HO-1 promotes angiogenesis in urothelial carcinoma cells, HO-1 inhibitors could be used as novel therapeutics for urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Nara Medical University, 840 Shijo-cho, Nara 634-8522, Japan. mm-ulo@naramed-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Makito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyake
authors.forename: Kiyohide
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anai
authors.forename: Sayuri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohnishi
authors.forename: Masaomi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuwada
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakai
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsumura
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tomioka
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Nobumichi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000502:physiology; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000502:physiology; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D015854:Up-Regulation; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D019459:Urothelium / Q000473:pathology; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1