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Dissecting the regulatory pathways that govern Angiopoietin‐2 expression in angiogenesis
Author(s) -
Taylor Caroline,
Lilly Brenda
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.5.a1100
Subject(s) - angiogenesis , angiopoietin , angiopoietin receptor , umbilical vein , microbiology and biotechnology , mapk/erk pathway , angiopoietin 2 , function (biology) , signal transduction , biology , cancer research , vascular endothelial growth factor , in vitro , genetics , vegf receptors
Angiogenesis or the formation of new blood vessels is dependent upon precise temporal and spatial regulation of multiple factors that control tube formation. One family of angiogenic factors that has been implicated in this process is the angiopoietins, which are extracellular ligands for the Tie2 receptor. While Angiopoietin‐1 (Ang‐1) has a clear proangiogenic role, the function of Angiopoietin‐2 (Ang‐2) is less evident; however, its invariable expression in postnatal angiogenesis suggests it serves an important function in both normal and pathological conditions. To gain a better understanding of the angiopoietins in blood vessel formation we examined their expression in a 3‐dimensional model of angiogenesis. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) when subjected to vessel forming conditions showed an increase in Ang‐2 expression with a corresponding decrease in Ang‐1 levels. Inhibition of select signaling pathways revealed that protein kinase C (PKC) and ERK MAP kinase are necessary for both Ang‐2 expression and vessel formation in vitro. To explore further the regulation of Ang‐2 we are currently investigating the transcriptional mechanisms that govern Ang‐2 expression through promoter analysis, and the results of these findings will be presented.