The pseudopeptide HB-19 binds to cell surface nucleolin and inhibits angiogenesis.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Nucleolin is a protein over-expressed on the surface of tumor and endothelial cells. Recent studies have underlined the involvement of cell surface nucleolin in tumor growth and angiogenesis. This cell surface molecule serves as a receptor for various ligands implicated in pathophysiological processes such as growth factors, cell adhesion molecules like integrins, selectins or laminin-1, lipoproteins and viruses (HIV and coxsackie B). HB-19 is a synthetic multimeric pseudopeptide that binds cell surface expressed nucleolin and inhibits both tumor growth and angiogenesis.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:

In the present work, we further investigated the biological actions of pseudopeptide HB-19 on HUVECs. In a previous work, we have shown that HB-19 inhibits the in vivo angiogenesis on the chicken embryo CAM assay. We now provide evidence that HB-19 inhibits the in vitro adhesion, migration and proliferation of HUVECs without inducing their apoptosis. The above biological actions seem to be regulated by SRC, ERK1/2, AKT and FAK kinases as we found that HB-19 inhibits their activation in HUVECs. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play crucial roles in tumor growth and angiogenesis, so we investigated the effect of HB-19 on the expression of MMP-2 and we found that HB-19 downregulates MMP-2 in HUVECs. Finally, down regulation of nucleolin using siRNA confirmed the implication of nucleolin in the biological actions of these peptides.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:

Taken together, these results indicate that HB-19 could constitute an interesting tool for tumor therapy strategy, targeting cell surface nucleolin.

• Authors: Charalampos Birmpas, Jean Paul Briand, Josẻ Courty, Panagiotis Katsoris
• Journal: Vascular cell (Vasc Cell) Vol. 4 Issue 1 Pg. 21 (Dec 24 2012) ISSN: 2045-824X [Electronic] England
• PMID: 23265284 (Publication Type: Journal Article)