Chuckle. I lead the world in money left on table in this rally. A classical perspective of the sector is the last thing one wanted.
Obligatory relevance.......
Nat Med 2000 Feb;6(2):196-9
Maspin is an angiogenesis inhibitor.
Zhang M, Volpert O, Shi YH, Bouck N
Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
[Medline record in process]
Maspin, a unique member of the serpin family, is a secreted protein encoded by a class II tumor suppressor gene whose
downregulation is associated with the development of breast and prostate cancers. Overexpression of maspin in breast tumor
cells limits their growth and metastases in vivo. In this report we demonstrate that maspin is an effective inhibitor of
angiogenesis. In vitro, it acted directly on cultured endothelial cells to stop their migration towards basic fibroblast growth factor
and vascular endothelial growth factor and to limit mitogenesis and tube formation. In vivo, it blocked neovascularization in the
rat cornea pocket model. Maspin derivatives mutated in the serpin reactive site lost their ability to inhibit the migration of
fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and breast cancer cells but were still able to block angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. When maspin
was delivered locally to human prostate tumor cells in a xenograft mouse model, it blocked tumor growth and dramatically
reduced the density of tumor-associated microvessels. These data suggest that the tumor suppressor activity of maspin may
depend in large part on its ability to inhibit angiogenesis and raise the possibility that maspin and similar serpins may be excellent
leads for the development of drugs that modulate angiogenesis. |
