Alteration of the Endothelial Barrier by Breast Cancer Cells as a Mechanism of Tumor Resistance

摘要

The endothelial cells lining blood vessels that perfuse breast tumors present a barrier that antineoplastic agents must cross to reach the tumor cells. The purpose of this award was to provide preliminary data to support the hypothesis that tumor cells can modulate this barrier by secreting soluble factors, by affecting extracellular matrix, or by a combination of these factors. The specific aims of this project were to (1) determine tumor cell induced expression of multi-drug-resistance proteins in endothelial cells; and (2) determine tumor cell mediated changes in Adriamycin transport across endothelial cells. Experiments performed to address aim 1 revealed no tumor mediated increases in p-gp protein (a classic multi-drug resistance protein) in endothelial cells.