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Versican V2 isoform enhances angiogenesis by regulating endothelial cell activities and fibronectin expression
Author(s) -
Yang Weining,
Yee Albert J.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2012.11.023
Subject(s) - versican , angiogenesis , gene isoform , fibronectin , extracellular matrix , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , alternative splicing , endothelial stem cell , integrin , proteoglycan , cell culture , biology , cell , cancer research , in vitro , biochemistry , gene , genetics
Versican is a proteoglycan expressed in the extracellular matrix, where it regulates a variety of cell activities and affects tumor development. With alternative splicing, there are four versican isoforms, denoted V0, V1, V2 and V3. The V2 isoform is highly expressed in the mature brain but its function in the mature brain has not yet been elucidated. Since brain tumors are among the most angiogenic of human tumors, we investigated whether or not the V2 isoform plays a role in angiogenesis and found that the glioblastoma cell line U87 stably transfected with V2 formed tumors containing extensive vasculature. Although the V2‐expressing cells grew slowly, they survived well in serum‐free medium. They also displayed high adhesive ability to endothelial cells and facilitated tube‐like structure formation. Importantly, fibronectin was up‐regulated by V2 and mediated V2 function. Thus, versican V2 could be a potential target for intervention of brain tumor angiogenesis.