Porphyrin analogues as novel antagonists of fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor binding that inhibit endothelial cell proliferation, tumor progression, and metastasis.

D Aviezer, S Cotton, M David, A Segev, N Khaselev, N Galili, Z Gross, A Yayon

Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.

Cancer research 2000 Jun 1

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Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) play a pivotal role in the multistep pathway of tumor progression, metastasis, and angiogenesis. We have identified a porphyrin analogue, 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(methyl-4-pyridyl)-21H,23H-porphine-tetra -p-tosylate salt (TMPP), as a potent inhibitor of FGF2 and VEGF receptor binding and activation. TMPP demonstrated potent inhibition of binding of soluble FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1) to FGF2 immobilized on heparin at submicromolar concentrations. TMPP inhibits binding of radiolabeled FGF2 to FGFR in a cell-free system as well as to cells genetically engineered to express FGFR1. Furthermore, TMPP also inhibits the binding of VEGF to its tyrosine kinase receptor in a dose-dependent manner. In an in vitro angiogenic assay measuring the extent of endothelial cell growth, tube formation, and sprouting, TMPP dramatically reduced the extent of the FGF2-induced endothelial cell outgrowth and differentiation. In a Lewis lung carcinoma model, mice receiving TMPP showed a marked inhibition of both primary tumor progression and lung metastases development, with nearly total inhibition of the metastatic phenotype upon alternate daily injections of TMPP at 25 microg/g of body mass. Finally, novel meso-pyridylium-substituted, nonsymmetric porphyrins, as well as a novel corrole-based derivative, with >50-fold increase in activity in vitro, had a significantly improved efficacy in blocking tumor progression and metastasis in vivo.

Citation

D Aviezer, S Cotton, M David, A Segev, N Khaselev, N Galili, Z Gross, A Yayon. Porphyrin analogues as novel antagonists of fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor binding that inhibit endothelial cell proliferation, tumor progression, and metastasis. Cancer research. 2000 Jun 1;60(11):2973-80