Véronique Machelon

Ovarian carcinomas have a poor prognosis, often associated with multifocal i.p. dissemination accompanied by intense neovascularization. To examine tumor angiogenesis in the tumor microenvironment, we studied malignant ascites and tumors of patients with untreated ovarian carcinoma. We observed that malignant ascites fluid induced potent in vivo neovascularization in Matrigel assay. We detected a sizable amount of vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) in malignant ascites. However, pathologic concentration of VEGF is insufficient to induce in vivo angiogenesis. We show that ovarian tumors strongly express CXC chemokine stromal-derived factor (SDF-1/CXCL12). High concentration of CXCL12, but not the pathologic concentration of CXCL12 induces in vivo angiogenesis. Strikingly, pathologic concentrations of VEGF and CXCL12 efficiently and synergistically induce in vivo angiogenesis. Migration, expansion, and survival of vascular endothelial cells (VEC) form the essential functional network of angiogenesis. We further provide a mechanistic basis for explaining the interaction between CXCL12 and VEGF. We show that VEGF up-regulates the receptor for CXCL12, CXCR4 expression on VECs, and synergizes CXCL12-mediated VEC migration. CXCL12 synergizes VEGF-mediated VEC expansion and synergistically protects VECs from sera starvation-induced apoptosis with VEGF. Finally, we show that hypoxia synchronously induces tumor CXCL12 and VEGF production. Therefore, hypoxia triggered tumor CXCL12 and VEGF form a synergistic angiogenic axis in vivo. Hypoxia-induced signals would be the important factor for initiating and maintaining an active synergistic angiogeneic pathway mediated by CXCL12 and VEGF. Thus, interrupting this synergistic axis, rather than VEGF alone, will be a novel efficient antiangiogenesis strategy to treat cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the gynecological cancer exhibiting the highest morbidity and improvement of treatments is still required. Previous studies have shown that Estrogen-receptor beta (ERβ) levels decreased along with ovarian carcinogenesis. Here, we present evidence that reintroduction of ERβ in BG-1 epithelial ovarian cancer cells, which express ERα, leads in vitro to a decrease of basal and estradiol-promoted cell proliferation. ERβ reduced the frequency of cells in S phase and increased the one of cells in G2/M phase. At the molecular level, we found that ERβ downregulated total retinoblastoma (Rb), phosphorylated Rb and phospho-AKT cellular content as well as cyclins D1 and A2. In addition, ERβ had a direct effect on ERα, by strongly inhibiting its expression and activity, which could explain part of the anti-proliferative action of ERβ. By developing a novel preclinical model of ovarian cancer based on a luminescent orthotopic xenograft in athymic Nude mice, we further revealed that ERβ expression reduces tumor growth and the presence of tumor cells in sites of metastasis, hence resulting in improved survival of mice. Altogether, these findings unveil a potential tumor-suppressor role of ERβ in ovarian carcinogenesis, which could be of potential clinical relevance for the selection of the most appropriate treatment for patients.

This study examines rapid (5-60 s) effects of androgens on the cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in human granulosa lutenizing cells. Cells were obtained from human preovulatory follicles, and [Ca2+]i was measured with the use of the Ca(2+)-responsive fluorescent dye fluo-3. Molar concentrations between 100 pmol/L and 1 mumol/L androstenedione increased [Ca2+]i within 5 s after addition to cells. This [Ca2+]i increase resulted from both Ca2+ influx, as shown by the effects of ethyleneglycol-bis-(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid and the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel blocker verapamil, and Ca2+ mobilization from the endoplasmic reticulum, as shown by the effects of thapsigargin. Treatment with pertussis toxin and U-73,122, a specific inhibitor of phospholipase C, abolished the effects of androstenedione on [Ca2+]i. Flutamide, a nuclear androgen receptor antagonist, did not block the increase in [Ca2+]i induced by androstenedione. Testosterone (100 pmol/L to 1 mumol/L) had no effect. This is the first report showing that androstenedione increases [Ca2+]i in granulosa cells. These data provide evidence for the presence in granulosa cells of a novel, short term mechanism of androstenedione action involving voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels in the plasma membrane and phospholipase C activation via a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the molecules that contribute to the growth of epithelial ovarian carcinomas (EOC), which remain the most lethal gynecological cancer in women. The chemokine Fractalkine/CX(3)CL1 has been widely reported to play a biologically relevant role in tumor growth and spread. We report here the first investigation of the expression and role of CX(3)CL1 in EOC. RESULTS: Epithelial cells from the surface of the ovary and the Fallopian tubes and from benign, borderline and malignant tumors all stained positive for CX(3)CL1. In tumor specimens from 54 women who underwent surgical treatment for EOC diagnosis, CX(3)CL1 immunoreactivity was unevenly distributed in epithelial tumor cells, and ranged from strong (33%) to absent (17%). This uneven distribution of CX(3)CL1 did not reflect the morphological heterogeneity of EOC. It was positively correlated with the proliferation index Ki-67 and with GILZ (glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper), previously identified as an activator of the proliferation of malignant EOC cells. Hierarchical clustering analysis, including age at diagnosis, tumor grade, FIGO stage, Ki-67 index, CX(3)CL1, SDF-1/CXCL12 and GILZ immunostaining scores, distinguished two major clusters corresponding to low and high levels of proliferation and differing in terms of GILZ and CX(3)CL1 expression. GILZ overexpression in the carcinoma-derived BG1 cell line resulted in parallel changes in CX(3)CL1 products. Conversely, CX(3)CL1 promoted through its binding to CX(3)CR1 AKT activation and proliferation in BG1 cells. In a mouse subcutaneous xenograft model, the overexpression of GILZ was associated with higher expression of CX(3)CL1 and faster tumor growth. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the previously unappreciated constitutive expression of CX(3)CL1 preceding tumorigenesis in ovarian epithelial cells. Together with GILZ, this chemokine emerges as a regulator of cell proliferation, which may be of potential clinical relevance for the selection of the most appropriate treatment for EOC patients.