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Tumor cells gain metastatic capacity through a Golgi phosphoprotein 3-dependent (GOLPH3-dependent) Golgi membrane dispersal process that drives the budding and transport of secretory vesicles. Whether Golgi dispersal underlies the pro-metastatic vesicular trafficking that is associated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) remains unclear. Here, we have shown that, rather than causing Golgi dispersal, EMT led to the formation of compact Golgi organelles with improved ribbon linking and cisternal stacking. Ectopic expression of the EMT-activating transcription factor ZEB1 stimulated Golgi compaction and relieved microRNA-mediated repression of the Golgi scaffolding protein PAQR11. Depletion of PAQR11 dispersed Golgi organelles and impaired anterograde vesicle transport to the plasma membrane as well as retrograde vesicle tethering to the Golgi. The N-terminal scaffolding domain of PAQR11 was associated with key regulators of Golgi compaction and vesicle transport in pull-down assays and was required to reconstitute Golgi compaction in PAQR11-deficient tumor cells. Finally, high PAQR11 levels were correlated with EMT and shorter survival in human cancers, and PAQR11 was found to be essential for tumor cell migration and metastasis in EMT-driven lung adenocarcinoma models. We conclude that EMT initiates a PAQR11-mediated Golgi compaction process that drives metastasis., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.

Recent studies in patients with ovarian cancer suggest that tumor growth may be accelerated following cessation of antiangiogenesis therapy; however, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. In this study, we aimed to compare the effects of therapy withdrawal to those of continuous treatment with various antiangiogenic agents. Cessation of therapy with pazopanib, bevacizumab, and the human and murine anti-VEGF antibody B20 was associated with substantial tumor growth in mouse models of ovarian cancer. Increased tumor growth was accompanied by tumor hypoxia, increased tumor angiogenesis, and vascular leakage. Moreover, we found hypoxia-induced ADP production and platelet infiltration into tumors after withdrawal of antiangiogenic therapy, and lowering platelet counts markedly inhibited tumor rebound after withdrawal of antiangiogenic therapy. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in platelets regulated their migration into the tumor microenvironment, and FAK-deficient platelets completely prevented the rebound tumor growth. Additionally, combined therapy with a FAK inhibitor and the antiangiogenic agents pazopanib and bevacizumab reduced tumor growth and inhibited negative effects following withdrawal of antiangiogenic therapy. In summary, these results suggest that FAK may be a unique target in situations in which antiangiogenic agents are withdrawn, and dual targeting of FAK and VEGF could have therapeutic implications for ovarian cancer management.

Epithelial tumor metastasis is preceded by an accumulation of collagen cross-links that heighten stromal stiffness and stimulate the invasive properties of tumor cells. However, the biochemical nature of collagen cross-links in cancer is still unclear. Here, we postulated that epithelial tumorigenesis is accompanied by changes in the biochemical type of collagen cross-links. Utilizing resected human lung cancer tissues and a p21CIP1/WAF1-deficient, K-rasG12D-expressing murine metastatic lung cancer model, we showed that, relative to normal lung tissues, tumor stroma contains higher levels of hydroxylysine aldehyde-derived collagen cross-links (HLCCs) and lower levels of lysine aldehyde-derived cross-links (LCCs), which are the predominant types of collagen cross-links in skeletal tissues and soft tissues, respectively. Gain- and loss-of-function studies in tumor cells showed that lysyl hydroxylase 2 (LH2), which hydroxylates telopeptidyl lysine residues on collagen, shifted the tumor stroma toward a high-HLCC, low-LCC state, increased tumor stiffness, and enhanced tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Together, our data indicate that LH2 enhances the metastatic properties of tumor cells and functions as a regulatory switch that controls the relative abundance of biochemically distinct types of collagen cross-links in the tumor stroma.

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a CC chemokine that stimulates monocyte recruitment when injected into tissues of healthy animals. However, the function of this chemokine in models with preexisting inflammation is not known. Therefore, MCP-1 was superfused over the mesentery of naive rats or rats with chronic adjuvant-induced vasculitis. MCP-1 elicited increased leukocyte transendothelial migration in adjuvant-immunized rats compared with naive animals. Surprisingly, histology revealed that neutrophils constituted the majority of leukocytes recruited in adjuvant-immunized animals. In vitro, MCP-1 was also able to induce chemotaxis of neutrophils isolated from adjuvant-immunized rats but not from naive rats. Flow cytometry revealed novel expression of the CC chemokine receptors CCR1 and CCR2 on neutrophils from adjuvant-immunized animals. In naive animals, an antibody against CD18 blocked leukocyte adhesion and emigration in response to MCP-1. In adjuvant-immunized animals, leukocyte adhesion was reduced by antibodies against the alpha4-integrin but not by antibodies against CD18. However, the CD18 antibody did block emigration. To our knowledge, this study is the first to show increased sensitivity to a CC chemokine in a model with preexisting inflammation, and altered leukocyte recruitment profiles in response to MCP-1. It also demonstrates that CD18 is required for chemokine-induced leukocyte transendothelial migration, independent of its known role in mediating firm adhesion. J. Clin. Invest. 103:1269-1276 (1999).

The present study was designed to compare high pressure pulmonary edema (HPPE) and oleic acid-induced low pressure pulmonary edema (OAPE) in dogs when similar amounts of extra vascular water were present in the lung. The high pressure edema was produced by intravenous fluid overload and by inflating an aortic balloon catheter (n = 6). The low pressure edema was produced by the injecting 0.08 mg/kg oleic acid suspended in 5 ml saline (n = 6). Comparison of the difference between initial control measurements and final measurements in the edematous states showed that the animals with OAPE had a greater fall in percent oxygen saturation and a greater increase in shunt fractions. The light microscopic studies showed that OAPE was associated with greater amounts of alveolar flooding than HPPE where the edema fluid was located to a greater extent in the peribronchial interstitial space. The electron microscopy studies showed that the alveolar flooding in OAPE was associated with epithelial disruption, and tracer studies carried out in rabbits showed that dextran (150,000 mol wt) could pass from blood to airspace and that dextran (40,000 mol wt) could pass from air-space to blood in OAPE. We conclude that epithelial disruption is responsible for the excessive alveolar flooding in OAPE and that this results in a greater impairment in gas exchange.