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Blood, 15 January 2004, Vol. 103, No. 2, pp. 601-606. Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on September 25, 2003; DOI 10.1182/blood-2003-07-2192.
HEMOSTASIS, THROMBOSIS, AND VASCULAR BIOLOGY Alphastatin, a 24amino acid fragment of human fibrinogen, is a potent new inhibitor of activated endothelial cells in vitro and in vivoFrom the Tumor Targeting Group, Microcirculation Research Unit, and Institute for Cancer Studies, University of Sheffield Medical School, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels from existing vasculature, is crucial for the development and metastasis of solid tumors. Here, we show for the first time that a 24amino acid peptide derived from the amino terminus of the alpha chain of human fibrinogen (termed "alphastatin") has potent antiangiogenic properties, inhibiting both the migration and tubule formation of human dermal microvascular endothelial cells in response to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in vitro. Moreover, alphastatin markedly inhibits the growth of tumors in a syngeneic murine model. Tumors from mice receiving daily injections of alphastatin for 12 days exhibited large areas of intravascular disruption and thrombosis with substantial cellular necrosis. Importantly, alphastatin administration had no detectable effect on vessels in such normal tissues as liver, lungs, and kidney. Taken together, these data indicate that alphastatin is a potent new antiangiogenic agent in vitro and antivascular agent in vivo.
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