| First Author | Kunstfeld R | Year | 2014 |
| Journal | J Dermatol Sci | Volume | 74 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 106-15 |
| PubMed ID | 24507936 | Mgi Jnum | J:310368 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6762839 | Doi | 10.1016/j.jdermsci.2014.01.002 |
| Citation | Kunstfeld R, et al. (2014) Thrombospondin-2 overexpression in the skin of transgenic mice reduces the susceptibility to chemically induced multistep skin carcinogenesis. J Dermatol Sci 74(2):106-15 |
| abstractText | BACKGROUND: We have previously reported stromal upregulation of the endogenous angiogenesis inhibitor thrombospondin-2 (TSP-2) during multistep carcinogenesis, and we found accelerated and enhanced skin angiogenesis and carcinogenesis in TSP-2 deficient mice. GOALS: To investigate whether enhanced levels of TSP-2 might protect from skin cancer development. METHODS: We established transgenic mice with targeted overexpression of TSP-2 in the skin and subjected hemizygous TSP-2 transgenic mice and their wild-type littermates to a chemical skin carcinogenesis regimen. RESULTS: TSP-2 transgenic mice showed a significantly delayed onset of tumor formation compared to wild-type mice, whereas the ratio of malignant conversion to squamous cell carcinomas was comparable in both genotypes. Computer-assisted morphometric analysis of blood vessels revealed pronounced tumor angiogenesis already in the early stages of carcinogenesis in wild type mice. TSP-2 overexpression significantly reduced tumor blood vessel density in transgenic mice but had no overt effect on LYVE-1 positive lymphatic vessels. The percentage of desmin surrounded, mature tumor-associated blood vessels and the degree of epithelial differentiation remained unaffected. The antiangiogenic effect of transgenic TSP-2 was accompanied by a significantly increased number of apoptotic tumor cells in transgenic mice. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that enhanced levels of TSP-2 in the skin result in reduced susceptibility to chemically-induced skin carcinogenesis and identify TSP-2 as a new target for the prevention of skin cancer. |
