In vivo monitoring of angiogenesis inhibition via down-regulation of mir-21 in a VEGFR2-luc murine breast cancer model using bioluminescent imaging

PLoS One. 2013 Aug 8;8(8):e71472. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071472. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) is overexpressed in a wide range of cancers and involved in tumor proliferation and metastasis. However, the potential function of miR-21 in regulating tumor angiogenesis has been little disclosed. In this study, we treated the cultured 4T1 murine breast cancer cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with miR-21 mimic, antagomir-21 or negative control (scramble), which were subjected to MTT, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL), quantitative Reverse Transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunoblotting analysis. In addition, 4T1 cells were implanted beneath the right breast fat pad of the VEGFR2-luc transgenic mice, which were randomly divided into three groups and received saline, antagomir-21 or scramble treatment once respectively after tumor model establishment. Bioluminescent imaging was used to monitor tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo at 0d, 3d, 5d, 7d, 10d, and 14d after treatment. Mice were killed at the end of study and tumor tissues were collected for use. The results showed that knockdown of miR-21 by antagomir-21 decreased cell proliferation and induced apoptosis via targeting PTEN both in 4T1 cells and HUVECs. We also found the anti-angiogenesis and anti-tumor effects of antagomir-21 in the VEGFR2-luc transgenic mouse model using bioluminescent imaging. Moreover, the Western blotting data revealed that antagomir-21 inhibited tumor angiogenesis through suppressing HIF-1α/VEGF/VEGFR2-associated signaling pathway. In conclusion, the results from current study demonstrate that antagomir-21 can effectively suppress tumor growth and angiogenesis in VEGFR2-luc mouse breast tumor model and bioluminescent imaging can be used as a tool for noninvasively and continuously monitoring tumor angiogenesis in vivo.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / genetics
  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
  • Animals
  • Breast / drug effects
  • Breast / metabolism
  • Breast / pathology
  • Breast Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Breast Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Down-Regulation
  • Female
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques
  • Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • MicroRNAs / antagonists & inhibitors
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • Neovascularization, Pathologic / genetics*
  • Neovascularization, Pathologic / pathology
  • Neovascularization, Pathologic / therapy*
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 / genetics

Substances

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors
  • MIRN21 microRNA, human
  • MIRN21 microRNA, mouse
  • MicroRNAs
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2

Grants and funding

This paper is supported by the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (81130028), the Ph.D. Programs Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (2.01123E+13), the Technology Foundation for Selected Overseas Chinese Scholar of Ministry of Personnel of China ([2007]275), and the Key Grant Project of Heilongjiang Province (GA12C302). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.