VEGF gene silencing by cytomegalovirus promoter driven ShRNA expression vector results in vascular development defects in zebrafish

Zebrafish has been generally considered as an excellent model in case of drug screening, disease model establishment, and vertebrate embryonic development study. In this work, the ability of human cytomegalovirus immediate early promoter (CMV promoter)-driven short hairpin RNA (shRNA) expression vector to induce shRNA against VEGF gene in zebrafish was tested, and its effect on vascular development was assed, too. Using RT-qPCR, blood vessel staining, and in situ hybridization, we confirmed certain transcriptional activity and down regulation of gene expression by the vector. In situ hybridization analysis indicated selective inhibition of NRP1 expression in the VEGF gene loss of function model, which might imply in turn that VEGF could not only activate endothelial cells directly but also could contribute to stimulating angiogenesis in vivo by a mechanism that involved up-regulation of its cognate receptor expression in zebrafish. This contributed to a better understanding of molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular development. The system improved the success rate in making inducible knockdown and widened the possibilities for better therapeutic targets in zebrafish.

N-acetylchitooligosaccharide is a potent angiogenic inhibitor both in vivo and in vitro

N-Acetylchitooligosaccharide (N-acetyl-COs) was prepared by N-acetylation of chitooligosaccharide (COs). In vitro study using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) revealed that both N-acetyl-COs and COs inhibited the proliferation of HUVECs by inducing apoptosis. Treatment of HUVECs by N-acetyl-COs resulted in a significant reduction of density of the migration cells and repressed tubulogenesis process. The antiangiogenic effects of the oligosaccharides were further evaluated using in vivo zebrafish angiogenesis model, and the results showed that both oligosaccharides inhibited the growth of subintestinal vessels (SIV) of zebrafish embryos in a dose-dependent manner, as observed by endogenous alkaline phosphatase (EAP) staining assay. In contrast, no cytotoxicity was found when treating the NIH3T3 and several other cancer cells with the oligosaccharides. Our results also confirmed the antiangiogenic activity of N-acetyl-COs was significantly stronger than the parent oligosaccharide, COs. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc.

A novel polypeptide from shark cartilage with potent anti-angiogenic activity

Using guanidine-HCl extraction, acetone precipitation, ultra-filtration and chromatography, a novel polypeptide with potent anti-angiogenic activity was purified from cartilage of the shark, Prionace glauca. N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis and SDS-PAGE revealed that the substance is a novel polypeptide with MW 15500 (PG155). The anti-angiogenic effects of PG155 were evaluated using zebrafish embryos model in vivo. Treatment of the embryos with 20 mu g/ml PG155 resulted in a significant reduction in the growth of subintestinal vessels (SIVs). A higher dose resulted in almost complete inhibition of SIV growth, as observed by endogenous alkaline phosphatase (EAP) staining assay. An in vitro transwell experiment revealed that the polypeptide inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induced migration and tubulogenesis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Exposure of HUVECs in 20 mu g/ml PG155 significantly decreased the density of migrated cells. Almost complete inhibition of cell migration was found when HUVECs were treated with 40-80 mu g/ml PG155. PG155 (20 mu g/ml) markedly inhibited the tube formation of HUVECs and a dose-dependent effect was also found when treatment of HUVECs with PG155 at the concentration from 20 to 160 mu g/ml.

鲨鱼软骨抗血管生成多肽的分离纯化及其生物活性

以血管生成为靶点的抗肿瘤策略是抗肿瘤领域的研究热点，目前已经发现许多天然和化学合成的抗血管生成药物。鲨鱼软骨作为抗新生血管生成因子的重要来源的研究已有20多年的历史，很多研究显示鲨鱼软骨提取物有抗血管生成活性。但鲨鱼软骨活性多肽的完整分子结构一直未见报道；鲨鱼软骨活性多肽干扰血管生成通路的信号途径尚不明确。 本文应用盐酸胍抽提、丙酮分级沉淀、超滤、凝胶层析等分离技术，从青鲨（Prionace glauca）软骨中分离纯化并鉴定了一种新的具有抗新生血管生成活性的多肽。经SDS-PAGE和N-末端氨基酸序列分析显示，该多肽分子量为15500 Da，采用蛋白数据库分析表明该多肽是一种新发现的鲨鱼软骨多肽（Polypeptide from Prionace glauca，PG155）。 体外实验显示，PG155抑制内皮细胞生长因子（vascular endothelial growth factor，VEGF）介导的人脐静脉内皮细胞（human umbilical vein endothelial cell ，HUVEC）迁移和管腔形成，并呈剂量依赖关系。200 μg/ml PG155对牛主动脉内皮细胞（Bovine Aortic Endothelial Cells，BAECs）和HUVECs及以下癌细胞，包括人肝癌细胞（human hepatoma Bel-7402 cells，Bel-7402）、 口腔上皮癌细胞（human oral epidermoid carcinoma KB cells ，KB）、人结肠癌细胞（human colon cancer HCT-18 cells，HCT-18）和人乳腺癌细胞（human breast MCF7 cancer cells ，MCF7）的增殖均无抑制作用，说明PG155无细胞毒作用。20 μg/ml PG155显著抑制HUVEC的迁移和管腔形成；40-80 μg/ml PG155 对VEGF 介导的HUVEC的迁移和管腔形成几乎完全抑制。 体内实验显示，PG155显著抑制斑马鱼胚胎模型新生血管生成，并呈剂量依赖关系。形态学观察表明PG155显著抑制斑马鱼胚胎肠下静脉（subintestinal vessels， SIVs）的生长，随着浓度的升高SIVs的生长可受到完全抑制。碱性磷酸酶染色分析显示，在一定浓度范围内，PG155随着浓度的升高对斑马鱼胚胎整体血管生成抑制作用依次增强。160 μg/ml PG155会引起斑马鱼胚胎心脏功能障碍。 由海洋生物中发现新的肿瘤新生血管生成抑制剂国内外的报道较少，我们的工作表明鲨鱼软骨可作为血管生成抑制剂的重要来源，鲨鱼软骨活性多肽PG155由于具有极低的细胞毒作用，并能抑制VEGF介导的血管生成过程，有希望成为一类新型抗肿瘤药物。