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Bcl-2 Orchestrates a Cross-talk between Endothelial and Tumor Cells that Promotes Tumor Growth

¹ Angiogenesis Research Laboratory, Department of Restorative Sciences, University of Michigan School of Dentistry; ² Departments of Dermatology and ³ Pathology, University of Michigan School of Medicine; ⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan College of Engineering; ⁵ Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; ⁶ Department of Restorative Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; ⁷ Departments of Pathology, Medicine, and Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois; and ⁸ Department of Medicine, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia

Requests for reprints: Jacques E. Nör, Angiogenesis Research Laboratory, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Room 2309, 1011 North University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1078. Phone: 734-936-9300; Fax: 734-936-1597; E-mail: jenor{at}umich.edu.

The current understanding of the interaction between the endothelium and cancer cells is fundamentally based on the concept that endothelial cells are responsive to differentiation and survival signals originating from the tumor cells. Whereas the effect of tumor cell–secreted factors on angiogenesis is well established, little is known about the effect of factors secreted by endothelial cells on tumor cell gene expression and tumor progression. Here, we show that bcl-2 gene expression is significantly higher in the tumor-associated endothelial cells of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) as compared with endothelial cells from the normal oral mucosa. Bcl-2 induces vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in neovascular endothelial cells through a signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)–mediated pathway. Endothelial cell–derived VEGF signals through VEGFR1 and induces expression of Bcl-2 and the proangiogenic chemokines CXCL1 and CXCL8 in HNSCC cells. Notably, inhibition of Bcl-2 expression in neovascular endothelial cells with RNA interference down-regulates expression of Bcl-2, CXCL8, and CXCL1 in HNSCC cells, and is sufficient to inhibit growth and decrease the microvessel density of xenografted HNSCC in immunodeficient mice. Together, these results show that Bcl-2 is the orchestrator of a cross-talk between neovascular endothelial cells and tumor cells, which has a direct effect on tumor growth. This work identifies a new function for Bcl-2 in cancer biology that is beyond its classic role in cell survival. [Cancer Res 2007;67(20):9685–93]

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