TGF-β activates pericytes via induction of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition protein SLUG in glioblastoma

  • Aims: In primary central nervous system tumours, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) gene expression is associated with increased malignancy. However, it has also been shown that EMT factors in gliomas are almost exclusively expressed by glioma vessel-associated pericytes (GA-Peris). In this study, we aimed to identify the mechanism of EMT in GA-Peris and its impact on angiogenic processes. Methods; In glioma patients, vascular density and the expression of the pericytic markers platelet derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR)-β and smooth muscle actin (αSMA) were examined in relation to the expression of the EMT transcription factor SLUG and were correlated with survival of patients with glioblastoma (GBM). Functional mechanisms of SLUG regulation and the effects on primary human brain vascular pericytes (HBVP) were studied in vitro by measuring proliferation, cell motility and growth characteristics. Results: The number of PDGFR-β- and αSMA-positive pericytes did not change with increased malignancy nor showed an association with the survival of GBM patients. However, SLUG-expressing pericytes displayed considerable morphological changes in GBM-associated vessels, and TGF-β induced SLUG upregulation led to enhanced proliferation, motility and altered growth patterns in HBVP. Downregulation of SLUG or addition of a TGF-β antagonising antibody abolished these effects. Conclusions: We provide evidence that in GA-Peris, elevated SLUG expression is mediated by TGF-β, a cytokine secreted by most glioma cells, indicating that the latter actively modulate neovascularisation not only by modulating endothelial cells, but also by influencing pericytes. This process might be responsible for the formation of an unstructured tumour vasculature as well as for the breakdown of the blood–brain barrier in GBM.
Metadaten
Author:Naita Maren Wirsik, Jakob Ehlers, Lisa Victoria Mäder, Elena Ilina, Anna-Eva Blank, Anne Grote, Friedrich Feuerhake, Peter BaumgartenORCiDGND, Kavi DevrajORCiD, Patrick Nikolaus HarterORCiDGND, Michel Guy André MittelbronnORCiDGND, Ulrike NaumannORCiD
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-618939
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/nan.12714
ISSN:1365-2990
Parent Title (English):Neuropathology and applied neurobiology
Publisher:Wiley-Blackwell
Place of publication:Oxford
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2020/03/29
Date of first Publication:2020/03/29
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2021/08/09
Tag:EMT; SLUG; TGF-β; pericytes
Volume:2020
Issue:Online Version of Record before inclusion in an issue
Page Number:13
First Page:1
Last Page:13
HeBIS-PPN:489324819
Institutes:Medizin
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (English):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung-Nicht kommerziell 4.0