IDC article in EMBO Molecular Medicine
Minaskan N / Wiedemann T ... Pellegata NS. A tumor-borne Ang-2/Tie-2 autostimulatory loop controls tumorigenesis. EMBO Mol Med. 2022 Mar 10:e14364
The cross-talk between cancer cells and cells in the tumor microenvironment, including endothelial cells, is a driving force in cancer progression.
In our study, we demonstrate that pituitary tumor cells coopt the ANGPT2/Tie2 signal transduction pathway to promote their growth. Tumor cells were found to highly express and secrete the cytokine ANGPT2, as well as express its receptor Tie2, as so far only demonstrated for endothelial cells. Stimulation of tumor-bound Tie2 promotes cell proliferation and survival. Pharmacological inhibition of the ANGPT2/Tie2 axis shows promising anti-tumor effects in a variety of clinically relevant experimental models. Thus, ANGPT2/Tie2 signaling is a promising therapeutic target in invasive/aggressive pituitary tumors, currently orphan of effective medical treatments.