Augmentation of tumor angiogenesis by a Myc-activated microRNA cluster

Augmentation of tumor angiogenesis by a Myc-activated microRNA cluster

2006 September ; 38(9): 1060–1065. doi:10.1038/ng1855. | Michael Dews, Asal Homayouni, Duonan Yu, Danielle Murphy, Cinzia Sevignani, Erik Wentzel, Emma E Furth, William M Lee, Greg H Enders, Joshua T Mendell, Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko
The study investigates the role of microRNAs in tumor angiogenesis, specifically focusing on the miR-17-92 cluster, which is activated by Myc. Human adenocarcinomas often contain mutations in *KRAS*, *MYC*, and *TP53*, which can promote angiogenesis by increasing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production. However, Kras-transformed mouse colonocytes lacking p53 formed poorly vascularized tumors, while additional Myc expression promoted robust vascularization and growth. The authors found that Myc-overexpressing tumors had more robust neovascularization, with larger-caliber vessels richly perfused with red blood cells. This effect was not due to increased VEGF production but rather to downregulation of anti-angiogenic thrombospondin-1 (Tsp1) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). The miR-17-92 cluster, which is upregulated in colonocytes coexpressing K-Ras and c-Myc, targets Tsp1 and CTGF. Knockdown of miR-17-92 partially restored Tsp1 and CTGF expression, and transduction of Ras-only cells with a miR-17-92-encoding retrovirus reduced Tsp1 and CTGF levels. Notably, miR-17-92-transduced cells formed larger, better-perfused tumors, demonstrating that microRNAs play a crucial role in non-cell-autonomous Myc-induced tumor phenotypes.The study investigates the role of microRNAs in tumor angiogenesis, specifically focusing on the miR-17-92 cluster, which is activated by Myc. Human adenocarcinomas often contain mutations in *KRAS*, *MYC*, and *TP53*, which can promote angiogenesis by increasing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production. However, Kras-transformed mouse colonocytes lacking p53 formed poorly vascularized tumors, while additional Myc expression promoted robust vascularization and growth. The authors found that Myc-overexpressing tumors had more robust neovascularization, with larger-caliber vessels richly perfused with red blood cells. This effect was not due to increased VEGF production but rather to downregulation of anti-angiogenic thrombospondin-1 (Tsp1) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). The miR-17-92 cluster, which is upregulated in colonocytes coexpressing K-Ras and c-Myc, targets Tsp1 and CTGF. Knockdown of miR-17-92 partially restored Tsp1 and CTGF expression, and transduction of Ras-only cells with a miR-17-92-encoding retrovirus reduced Tsp1 and CTGF levels. Notably, miR-17-92-transduced cells formed larger, better-perfused tumors, demonstrating that microRNAs play a crucial role in non-cell-autonomous Myc-induced tumor phenotypes.
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[slides and audio] Augmentation of tumor angiogenesis by a Myc-activated microRNA cluster