sFlt-1 Gene Therapy of Follicular Thyroid Carcinoma

Tumor progression largely depends on blood supply and neovessel formation, and angiogenesis is emerging as a promising target for cancer therapy. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a major proangiogenic molecule, stimulates angiogenesis via promoting endothelial proliferation, survival and migration. VEGF has been found to be up-regulated in various types of tumors and to be associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis. Inhibition of VEGF or its signaling pathway has been shown to suppress tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth. In the present study, we tested the antiangiogenic and antitumor effects of soluble VEGF receptor-1 [soluble Flt (sFlt)-1] on the growth of follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC). We constructed a 293 embryonic kidney cell line (293-Flt1–3d) that expresses sFlt-1, which is composed of the first three extracellular domains of Flt-1. The 293-Flt1–3d cells inhibited the in vitro growth of human umbilical vein endothelial cells in a paracrine manner. The in vivo antitumor and...