BACKGROUND

Angiopoietin-2 is expressed in prostate cancer (PCa) bone, liver, and lymph node metastases, whereas, its competitor angiopoietin-1 has limited expression in these tissues. Therefore, we hypothesized that the inhibition of angiopoietin-2 activity in PCa will impede angiogenesis, tumor growth, and alter bone response in vivo.

METHODS

To test our hypothesis we used L1-10, a peptide-Fc fusion that inhibits interactions between angiopoietin-2 and its receptor tie2. We blocked angiopoietin-2 activity using L1-10 in established subcutaneous and intra-tibial LuCaP 23.1 xenografts. We then determined the effect of L1-10 on survival, tumor growth, serum PSA, proliferation, microvessel density, and angiogenesis-associated gene expression in subcutaneous tumors. We also determined serum PSA, tumor area, and bone response in intra-tibial tumors.

RESULTS

The administration of L1-10 decreased tumor volume and serum PSA, and increased survival in SCID mice bearing subcutaneous LuCaP 23.1 tumors. Histomorphometric analysis, showed a further significant decrease in tumor epithelial area within the L1-10 treated LuCaP 23.1 subcutaneous tumors (P=0.0063). There was also a significant decrease in cell proliferation (P=0.012), microvessel density (P=0.012), and a significant increase in ANGPT-2 and HIF-1α mRNA expression (P≤0.05) associated with L1-10 treatment. Alternatively, in LuCaP 23.1 intra-tibial tumors L1-10 treatment did not significantly change serum PSA, tumor area or bone response.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrate that inhibiting angiopoietin-2 activity impedes angiogenesis and growth of LuCaP 23.1 PCa xenografts. Based on these data, we hypothesize that angiopoietin-2 inhibition in combination with other therapies may represent a potential therapy for patients with metastatic disease.