RESUMO
Angiogenesis is a pivotal process of homeostasis and tissue repair, but it also favours neovascularisation syndromes and cancer nutrition. The chemical mediation of angiogenesis is complex, involving a balance between serine proteases and their inhibitors. We addressed the mechanisms of action of a Kunitz serine protease inhibitor (KPI) on spontaneous angiogenesis, using Amblyomin-X, a KPI designed from the cDNA library of the Amblyomma cajennense tick. Amblyomin-X treatment (10-1000 ng/10 µL; each 48 h; 3 times) reduced the number of vessels in the subcutaneous dorsal tissue of male Swiss mice, as measured by intravital microscopy, haematoxylin-eosin staining, and PECAM-1 immunofluorescence labeling. Incubation of Amblyomin-X with t-End endothelial cells, a murine endothelial microvascular lineage, did not alter cell proliferation, cell-cycle phases, necrosis and apoptosis, and the production of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2. Nevertheless, Amblyomin-X treatment reduced t-End migration and adhesion to Matrigel(®), and inhibited the VEGF-A secretion and VCAM-1 and ß3 integrin expressions by posttranscriptional pathways. Together, data herein outline novel posttranscriptional mechanisms of KPIs on endothelial cells during angiogenesis and point out the possible application of Amblyomin-X as a local inhibitor to undesired neovascularisation process.
Assuntos
Adesão Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Endoteliais/efeitos dos fármacos , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Processamento de Proteína Pós-Traducional/efeitos dos fármacos , Proteínas e Peptídeos Salivares/farmacologia , Fator A de Crescimento do Endotélio Vascular/metabolismo , Animais , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Proteínas de Artrópodes , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Cultivadas , Dinoprostona/metabolismo , Células Endoteliais/metabolismo , Biblioteca Gênica , Masculino , Camundongos , Neovascularização Fisiológica/efeitos dos fármacos , Óxido Nítrico/metabolismo , Molécula-1 de Adesão Celular Endotelial a Plaquetas/genética , Molécula-1 de Adesão Celular Endotelial a Plaquetas/metabolismo , RNA Mensageiro/genética , RNA Mensageiro/metabolismo , Proteínas e Peptídeos Salivares/genética , Molécula 1 de Adesão de Célula Vascular/genética , Molécula 1 de Adesão de Célula Vascular/metabolismo , Fator A de Crescimento do Endotélio Vascular/antagonistas & inibidores , Fator A de Crescimento do Endotélio Vascular/genéticaRESUMO
Amblyomin-X is a Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor (Kunitz-type SPI) designed from the cDNA library of the Amblyomma cajennense tick, which displays in vivo anti-tumor activities. Here, the mechanisms of actions of Amblyomin-X in vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A)-induced angiogenesis were characterized. Topical application of Amblyomin-X (10 or 100 ng/10 µl; each 48 h) inhibited VEGF-A-induced (10 ng/10 µl; each 48 h) angiogenesis in the dorsal subcutaneous tissue in male Swiss mice. Moreover, similar effect was observed in the VEGF-A-induced angiogenesis in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Additional in vitro assays in t-End cells showed that Amblyomin-X treatment delayed the cell cycle, by maintaining them in G0/G1 phase, and inhibited cell proliferation and adhesion, tube formation and membrane expression of the adhesion molecule platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1), regardless of mRNA synthesis. Together, results herein reveal the role of Kunitz-type SPI on in vivo VEGF-A-induced angiogenesis, by exerting modulatory actions on endothelial cell proliferation and adhesion, especially on membrane expression of PECAM-1. These data provide further mechanisms of actions of Kunitz-type SPI, corroborating their relevance as scientific tools in the design of therapeutic molecules.
