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uPAR/Cathepsin B Overexpression Reverse Angiogenesis by Rescuing FAK Phosphorylation in uPAR/Cathepsin B Down Regulated Meningioma

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posted on 2011-05-27, 00:00 authored by Reshu Gupta, Arun K. Nalla, Venkateswara R. Gogineni, Chandramu Chetty, Praveen Bhoopathi, Jeffrey D. Klopfenstein, Andrew J. Tsung, Sanjeeva Mohanam, Jasti S. Rao
BACKGROUND: Meningiomas are the most commonly occurring intracranial tumors and account for approximately 15-20% of central nervous system tumors. Surgery and radiation therapy is a common treatment for brain tumors, however, patients whose tumors recur after such treatments have limited therapeutic options. Earlier studies have reported important roles of uPA, uPAR and cathepsin B in tumor progression. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present study, we examined the therapeutic significance of RNAi-mediated simultaneous down regulation of these proteolytic networks using two bicistronic siRNA constructs, pUC (uPAR/cathepsin B) and pU2 (uPA/uPAR) either alone or in combination with radiation in two different meningioma cell lines. Transfection of meningioma cells with pUC and pU2 significantly reduced angiogenesis as compared to control treatment both in vitro and in vivo nude mice model. This effect is mediated by inhibiting angiogenic molecules (Ang-1, Ang-2 and VEGF). Expression of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is elevated in malignant meningioma, yet the role of intrinsic FAK activity in promoting tumor progression remains undefined. We found that pUC treatment reduced FAK phosphorylation at Y925 more efficiently compared to pU2 treatment. In immunoprecipitation assay, we found pronounced reduction of FAK (Y925) interaction with Grb2 in meningioma cells transfected with pUC with and without irradiation. Transient over-expression of uPAR and cathepsin B by full length uPAR/cathepsin B (FLpU/C) in pUC transfected meningioma cells promoted vascular phenotype, rescued expression of Ang-1, Ang-2, VEGF, FAK (Y925) and Grb2 both in vitro and in vivo mice model. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These studies provide the first direct proof that bicistronic siRNA construct for uPAR and cathepsin B (pUC) reduces Y925-FAK activity and this inhibition is rescued by overexpression of both uPAR and cathepsin B which clearly demonstrates that pUC could thus be a potential therapeutic approach as an anti-angiogenic agent in meningioma.

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), NS61835 (to J.S.R.).

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Publisher Statement

© 2011 Gupta et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The original version is available through Public Library of Science at DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017123.

Publisher

Public Library of Science

Language

  • en_US

issn

1932-6203

Issue date

2010-02-11

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