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Comment
. 2009 Sep 17;461(7262):E4; discussion E5.
doi: 10.1038/nature08254.

VEGFR1-activity-independent metastasis formation

Michelle R Dawson  1 , Dan G Duda, Dai Fukumura, Rakesh K Jain
Affiliations
Comment

VEGFR1-activity-independent metastasis formation

Michelle R Dawson et al. Nature. .

Abstract

Molecules such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or placental growth factor-critical regulators of tumour angiogenesis-are also thought to mobilize into blood circulation bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs), which may subsequently be recruited to tumours and facilitate tumour growth and metastasis. A study has suggested that BMDCs form 'metastatic niches' in lungs before arrival of cancer cells, and showed that pharmacological inhibition of VEGF receptor 1 (VEGFR1, also known as Flt1)-cognate receptor for VEGF and placental growth factor-prevented BMDC infiltration in lungs and 'metastatic niche' formation. Here we report that blockade of VEGFR1 activity does not affect the rate of spontaneous metastasis formation in a clinically relevant and widely used preclinical model. Therefore, alternative pathways probably mediate the priming of tissues for metastasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: R.K.J. is a consultant and receives research funding from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and Dyax Corporation.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Effect of blocking VEGFR1 activity on BMDC accumulation in tumours and metastatic lung tissues
The number of BMDCs was calculated as ratio of GFP-surface area to DAPI-surface area (± s.e.m.). DAPI was used to stain the nuclei of all cells (n = 6–8 mice per group).* P < 0.05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

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