Importance of interaction between nerve growth factor and α9β1 integrin in glial tumor angiogenesis

摘要

NGF is a growth factor for which the role in the promotion of angiogenesis is still not completely understood. We found that NGF promotes the pathological neovas-cularization process in glioma through a direct interaction with α9βl integrin, which is up-regulated on microvascular endothelial cells in cancer tissue. We propagated gHMVEC primary cells using a new method of immune-selection, and these cells demonstrated α9βl integrin-dependent binding of NGF in a cell adhesion assay. Moreover, NGF induced gHMVEC proliferation and chemotaxis inhibited by specific blockers of α9βl integrin, such as MLD-disintegrins and monoclonal antibody Y9A2. A Matrigel tube formation assay revealed that NGF significantly increased capillary-like growth from gHMVEC to a level comparable to treatment with VEGF. The snake venom disintegrin, VLO5, inhibited the agonistic effect of both growth factors, whereas the effect of Y9A2 was not statistically significant. Angiogenesis exogenously induced by NGF was also α9βl-integrin dependent in an embryonic quail CAM system. However, angiogenesis pathologically induced by developing glioma in this system was only sensitive for inhibition with MLD-disintegrin, suggesting a more complex effect of cancer cells on the neovascularization process. The anti-angiogenic effect of MLD-disintegrins is probably related to their pro-apoptotic ability induced in activated tumoral endothelial cells. Therefore, the molecular basis of these disintegrins may be useful for developing new angio-static pharmaceuticals for application in cancer therapy.