title: Multiple strategies of oxygen supply in Drosophila malignancies identify tracheogenesis as a novel cancer hallmark.
abstract: Angiogenesis is the term used to describe all the alterations in blood vessel growth induced by a tumour mass following hypoxic stress. The occurrence of multiple strategies of vessel recruitment favours drug resistance, greatly complicating the treatment of certain tumours. In Drosophila, oxygen is conveyed to the internal organs by the tracheal system, a closed tubular network whose role in cancer growth is so far unexplored. We found that, as observed in human cancers, Drosophila malignant cells suffer from oxygen shortage, release pro-tracheogenic factors, co-opt nearby vessels and get incorporated into the tracheal walls. We also found that the parallelisms observed in cellular behaviours are supported by genetic and molecular conservation. Finally, we identified a molecular circuitry associated with the differentiation of cancer cells into tracheal cells. In summary, our findings identify tracheogenesis as a novel cancer hallmark in Drosophila, further expanding the power of the fly model in cancer research.
authors.affiliation: Department of "Farmacia e Biotecnologie", University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grifoni
authors.affiliation: Department of "Farmacia e Biotecnologie", University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sollazzo
authors.affiliation: Department of "Farmacia e Biotecnologie", University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fontana
authors.affiliation: Department of "Farmacia e Biotecnologie", University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Froldi
authors.affiliation: Department of "Farmacia e Biotecnologie", University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pession
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D015415:Biomarkers; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004330:Drosophila; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques; D009154:Mutation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010101:Oxygen Consumption
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers