A study on the role of osteopontin in regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor vegf expression angiogenesis and tumor growth

Abstract

Cancer or the malignancies of the cells has been considered as one of the most dreadly disease. The majority of the death caused by cancer is due to the distant migration of the cancer cells and the phenomenon is termed as tumor metastasis. Angiogenesis or neovascurarization or formation of the new blood vessels from the existing one plays crucial role during tumor progression. Recent studies from various laboratories indicated that angiogenesis not only provide nutrients to the tumor cells but also help the tumor cells to metastasize to the distant parts of the body. Thus, angiogenesis is considered as the most important step not only for the tumor growth but also for the tumor metastasis and therefore, understanding the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of angiogenesis may help to invent novel approaches for cancer therapy. Osteopontin (OPN), the ECM associated calcified phosphosialoprotein has been considered as one of the major molecule which play crucial role in tumor metastasis. In this study using multiple in vitro and in vivo approaches we have demonstrated for the first time that OPN acts as an important angiogenic factor that augments the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and regulates tumor angiogenesis in breast cancer model.