Pancreatic-carcinoma-cell-derived pro-angiogenic factors can induce endothelial-cell differentiation of a subset of circulating CD34+ progenitors

BACKGROUND: CD34(+) progenitor cells comprise both hematopoietic and endothelial progenitor cells. Recent studies suggest that circulating endothelial progenitor cells are recruited into the angiogenic vascular system of several cancers, including pancreatic carcinoma, and that they correlate with clinical progress. However, whether endothelial progenitor cell mobilization occurs in response to cytokine release by tumor cells is still unclear. METHODS: The chemotactic- and/or differentiating-activities of the poorly-differentiated pancreatic carcinoma cell line PT45, and of the immortal H6c7 cell line, a line of near-normal pancreatic duct epithelial cells, on endothelial progenitor cells were investigated in vitro using circulating CD34(+) as model. RESULTS: The study showed that Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor produced by PT45 cells and, at lesser extent, by H6c7 cells, predominantly chemoattract peripheral blood CD34(+) expressing the type 2 relative receptor. Addition of PT45-conditioned medium to CD34(+) cells, cultured under conditions supporting myeloid cell development, diverted the differentiation of a subset of these progenitor cells into cells expressing endothelial cell markers, such as CD146, CD105, VE-cadherin and von Willebrand Factor-related antigen. Moreover, these endothelial-like cells formed capillary networks in vitro, chiefly through the release of Angiopoietin-1 by PT45 cells. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate that pancreatic-carcinoma cells potentially attract circulating endothelial progenitor cells to the tumor site, by releasing high levels of pro-angiogenic factors such as Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Angiopoietin-1, and may direct the differentiation of these cell subsets of the CD34(+) cell population into endothelial cells; the latter cells may become a component of the newly-formed vessels, contributing to angiogenesis-mediated tumor growth and metastasis.