Department of Internal Medicine IV, University Hospital of Munich, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital of Munich, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Thyroid. 2019 Dec;29(12):1843-1857. doi: 10.1089/thy.2019.0413. Epub 2019 Dec 9.
Several clinical and experimental studies have implicated thyroid hormones in cancer progression. Cancer-relevant effects, including stimulation of tumor growth and new blood vessel formation by angiogenesis, are thought to be mediated by a nonclassical signaling pathway initiated through integrin αvβ3 expressed on cancer cells and proliferating endothelium. In an earlier study, we established mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), important contributors to the fibrovascular network of tumors, as new thyroid hormone-dependent targets. Here, we evaluated the effects of the thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) versus Tetrac, an integrin-specific inhibitor of thyroid hormone action, on MSCs in tumor angiogenesis. Modulation of the expression and secretion of angiogenesis-relevant factors by thyroid hormones in primary human MSCs and their effect on endothelial cell tube formation were tested . We further engineered MSCs to express the sodium iodide symporter () reporter gene under control of a hypoxia-responsive promoter and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) promoter to test effects on these pathways and, for VEGF, in an orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) xenograft mouse model by positron emission tomography imaging. T3 and T4 increased the expression of pro-angiogenic genes in MSCs and NIS-mediated radioiodide uptake in both NIS reporter MSC lines in the presence of HCC cell-conditioned medium. Supernatant from thyroid hormone-treated MSCs significantly enhanced endothelial cell tube formation. Tetrac and/or inhibitors of signaling pathways downstream of the integrin reversed all these effects. Tumoral radioiodide uptake demonstrated successful recruitment of MSCs to tumors and VEGF promoter-driven NIS expression. Hyperthyroid mice showed an increased radioiodide uptake compared with euthyroid mice, while tracer uptake was markedly reduced in hypothyroid and Tetrac-treated mice. Our data suggest that thyroid hormones influence angiogenic signaling in MSCs via integrin αvβ3 and further substantiate the anti-angiogenic activity of Tetrac in the tumor microenvironment.
几项临床和实验研究表明甲状腺激素与癌症的进展有关。癌症相关的效应,包括通过血管生成刺激肿瘤生长和新血管形成,被认为是通过整合素αvβ3在癌细胞和增殖内皮细胞上表达而启动的非经典信号通路介导的。在早期的一项研究中,我们确定间充质干细胞(MSCs)是肿瘤纤维血管网络的重要贡献者,是新的甲状腺激素依赖性靶标。在这里,我们评估了甲状腺激素三碘甲状腺原氨酸(T3)和甲状腺素(T4)与 Tetrac(一种甲状腺激素作用的整合素特异性抑制剂)对肿瘤血管生成中 MSCs 的影响。我们测试了甲状腺激素对原代人 MSCs 中血管生成相关因子的表达和分泌的调节作用及其对内皮细胞管形成的影响。我们进一步构建了表达钠碘转运体()报告基因的 MSCs,该基因受缺氧反应启动子和血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)启动子的控制,以测试这些途径的影响,并在荷瘤肝细胞癌(HCC)异种移植小鼠模型中通过正电子发射断层扫描成像测试 VEGF 的影响。T3 和 T4 增加了 MSCs 中促血管生成基因的表达,并在 HCC 细胞条件培养基存在的情况下,在两种 NIS 报告 MSC 系中增加了 NIS 介导的放射性碘摄取。甲状腺激素处理的 MSC 的上清液显著增强了内皮细胞管形成。Tetrac 和/或整合素下游信号通路的抑制剂逆转了所有这些作用。肿瘤放射性碘摄取证明 MSCs 成功募集到肿瘤中,并且 VEGF 启动子驱动的 NIS 表达。与甲状腺功能正常的小鼠相比,甲状腺功能亢进的小鼠显示出增加的放射性碘摄取,而甲状腺功能减退和 Tetrac 处理的小鼠的示踪剂摄取明显减少。我们的数据表明,甲状腺激素通过整合素αvβ3影响 MSCs 的血管生成信号,进一步证实了 Tetrac 在肿瘤微环境中的抗血管生成活性。