Full-Length Semaphorin-3C Is an Inhibitor of Tumor Lymphangiogenesis and Metastasis

Semaphorins play important regulatory roles in diverse processes such as axon guidance, angiogenesis, and immune responses. We find that semaphorin-3C (sema3C) induces the collapse of the cytoskeleton of lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) in a neuropilin-2-, plexin-D1-, and plexin-A1–dependent manner, while most other semaphorins, including antiangiogenic semaphorins such as sema3A do not. Sema3C is cleaved, like other class-3 semaphorins, by furin-like pro-protein convertases (FPPC). Cleaved sema3C (p65-Sema3C) was unable to induce the collapse of the cytoskeleton of LEC. FPPC are strongly upregulated in tumor cells. In order to examine the effects of full-length sema3C on tumor progression, we therefore generated an active point mutated furin cleavage-resistant sema3C (FR-sema3C). FR-sema3C inhibited potently proliferation of LEC and to a lesser extent proliferation of human umbilical vein–derived endothelial cells. FR-sema3C also inhibited VEGF-C–induced phosphorylation of VEGFR-3, ERK1/2, and AKT. Expression of recombinant FR-sema3C in metastatic, triple-negative LM2-4 breast cancer cells did not affect their migration or proliferation in vitro . However, tumors derived from FR-sema3C–expressing LM2-4 cells implanted in mammary fat pads developed at a slower rate, contained a lower concentration of blood vessels and lymph vessels, and metastasized much less effectively to lymph nodes. Interestingly, p65-Sema3C, but not FR-sema3C, rendered A549 lung cancer cells resistant to serum deprivation, suggesting that previously reported protumorigenic activities of sema3C may be due to p65-Sema3C produced by tumor cells. Our observations suggest that FR-sema3C may be further developed into a novel antitumorigenic drug. Cancer Res; 75(11); 2177–86. ©2015 AACR .