通过受体免疫球蛋白融合蛋白同时阻断血管内皮生长因子 (VEGF)-A 和 VEGF-C 抑制肿瘤生长和转移。
Suppression of tumor growth and metastasis by simultaneously blocking vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and VEGF-C with a receptor-immunoglobulin fusion protein.
机构信息
International Joint Cancer Institute, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
出版信息
Cancer Res. 2010 Mar 15;70(6):2495-503. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-3488. Epub 2010 Mar 2.
The major cause of cancer mortality is the metastatic spread of tumor cells that can occur via multiple routes, including the vascular system and the lymphatic system. In this study, we developed an IgG-like fusion protein molecule [vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor 31-immunoglobulin (VEGFR31-Ig)] which could simultaneously bind the angiogenic growth factor VEGF-A and the lymphangiogenic growth factor VEGF-C. Importantly, VEGFR31-Ig exhibited VEGF-A-binding affinity similar to that of VEGFTrap, the most potent VEGF-A binder, and VEGF-C-binding affinity comparable with that of the soluble fusion protein VEGFR3-Ig (sVEGFR3). Pharmacokinetic analysis in mice showed that VEGFR31-Ig had improved pharmacokinetic properties compared with either VEGFTrap or sVEGFR3. In a highly metastatic human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCCLM3) model in severe combined immunodeficient mice, VEGFR31-Ig potently blocked both tumor angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, effectively inhibiting primary tumor growth and metastasis to lungs and lymph nodes. In contrast, VEGFTrap only suppressed primary tumor growth and metastasis to lungs by inhibiting tumor angiogenesis, whereas VEGFR3 was only effective in suppressing tumor metastasis to lymph nodes by blocking tumor lymphangiogenesis. Although a combination of VEGFTrap (25 mg/kg twice weekly) and sVEGFR3 (25 mg/kg twice weekly) can achieve the same therapeutic effect as VEGFR31-Ig (25 mg/kg twice weekly) in the HCCLM3 xenograft mouse model, developing two separate receptor-Ig fusion proteins for clinical use as combination therapy is impractical, mainly owing to regulatory hurdles and cost. Taken together, the VEGFR31-Ig fusion protein presented here has been suggested to have great potential for the treatment of metastatic cancer.
癌症死亡的主要原因是肿瘤细胞的转移扩散,其可以通过多种途径发生,包括血管系统和淋巴系统。在本研究中,我们开发了一种 IgG 样融合蛋白分子[血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)受体 31-免疫球蛋白(VEGFR31-Ig)],它可以同时结合血管生成生长因子 VEGF-A 和淋巴管生成生长因子 VEGF-C。重要的是,VEGFR31-Ig 表现出与最有效的 VEGF-A 结合物 VEGFTrap 相似的 VEGF-A 结合亲和力,并且与可溶性融合蛋白 VEGFR3-Ig (sVEGFR3) 的 VEGF-C 结合亲和力相当。在小鼠中的药代动力学分析表明,与 VEGFTrap 或 sVEGFR3 相比,VEGFR31-Ig 具有改善的药代动力学特性。在严重联合免疫缺陷小鼠的高转移性人肝癌(HCCLM3)模型中,VEGFR31-Ig 强烈阻断肿瘤血管生成和淋巴管生成,有效抑制原发性肿瘤生长和转移到肺部和淋巴结。相比之下,VEGFTrap 仅通过抑制肿瘤血管生成来抑制原发性肿瘤生长和向肺部转移,而 VEGFR3 仅通过阻断肿瘤淋巴管生成来有效抑制肿瘤向淋巴结转移。尽管 VEGFTrap(25mg/kg,每周两次)和 sVEGFR3(25mg/kg,每周两次)的组合可以在 HCCLM3 异种移植小鼠模型中达到与 VEGFR31-Ig(25mg/kg,每周两次)相同的治疗效果,但开发两种单独的受体-Ig 融合蛋白用于临床联合治疗在实践中是不可行的,主要是由于监管障碍和成本问题。总之,本文提出的 VEGFR31-Ig 融合蛋白具有治疗转移性癌症的巨大潜力。