RESUMO
Angiopoietin (Ang)-2, a context-dependent agonist/antagonist for the vascular-specific Tie2 receptor, is highly expressed by endothelial cells at sites of normal and pathologic angiogenesis. One prevailing model suggests that in these settings, Ang-2 acts as an autocrine Tie2 blocker, inhibiting the stabilizing influence of the Tie2 activator Ang-1, thereby promoting vascular remodeling. However, the effects of endogenous Ang-2 on cells that are actively producing it have not been studied in detail. Here, we demonstrate that Ang-2 expression is rapidly induced in endothelial cells by the transcription factor FOXO1 after inhibition of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway. We employ RNAi and blocking antibodies to show that in this setting, Ang-2 unexpectedly functions as a Tie2 agonist, bolstering Akt activity so as to provide negative feedback on FOXO1-regulated transcription and apoptosis. In addition, we show that Ang-2, like Ang-1, activates Tie2/Akt signaling in vivo, thereby inhibiting the expression of FOXO1 target genes. Consistent with a role for Ang-2 as a Tie2 activator, we demonstrate that Ang-2 inhibits vascular leak. Our data suggests a model in which Ang-2 expression is induced in stressed endothelial cells, where it acts as an autocrine Tie2 agonist and protective factor.
Assuntos
Angiopoietina-2/metabolismo , Comunicação Autócrina , Células Endoteliais/fisiologia , Estresse Oxidativo , Androstadienos/metabolismo , Angiopoietina-2/genética , Animais , Apoptose/fisiologia , Células Cultivadas , Células Endoteliais/citologia , Proteína Forkhead Box O1 , Fatores de Transcrição Forkhead/genética , Fatores de Transcrição Forkhead/metabolismo , Humanos , Camundongos , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinases/metabolismo , Fosforilação , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/metabolismo , Interferência de RNA , Receptor TIE-2/genética , Receptor TIE-2/metabolismo , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais/fisiologia , Ativação Transcricional , WortmaninaRESUMO
Angiopoietins are a recently discovered family of angiogenic factors that interact with the endothelial receptor tyrosine kinase Tie2, either as agonists (angiopoietin-1) or as context-dependent agonists/antagonists (angiopoietin-2). Here we show that angiopoietin-1 has a modular structure unlike any previously characterized growth factor. This modular structure consists of a receptor-binding domain, a dimerization motif and a superclustering motif that forms variable-sized multimers. Genetic engineering of precise multimers of the receptor-binding domain of angiopoietin-1, using surrogate multimerization motifs, reveals that tetramers are the minimal size required for activating endothelial Tie2 receptors. In contrast, engineered dimers can antagonize endothelial Tie2 receptors. Surprisingly, angiopoietin-2 has a modular structure and multimerization state similar to that of angiopoietin-1, and its antagonist activity seems to be a subtle property encoded in its receptor-binding domain.
