This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Aikawa, T. Articles by Korc, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Aikawa, T. Articles by Korc, M.

Research Articles: Targets

Connective tissue growth factor–specific antibody attenuates tumor growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis in an orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic cancer

¹ Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology and Toxicology, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire and ² FibroGen, Inc., South San Francisco, California

Requests for reprints: Murray Korc, Department of Medicine, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756. Phone: 603-650-7936; Fax: 603-650-6122. E-mail: murray.korc{at}dartmouth.edu

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) plays an important role in fibrosis by modulating cell migration and cell growth but may also modify tumor growth and metastasis. Because CTGF is overexpressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, we investigated the in vitro effects of CTGF on the proliferation and invasiveness of PANC-1 pancreatic cancer cells and examined the consequences of its in vivo inhibition on the growth and metastasis of these cells using a fully human CTGF-specific monoclonal antibody (FG-3019) in an orthotopic nude mouse model. Although PANC-1 cells expressed relatively high levels of endogenous CTGF mRNA, the addition of CTGF to conditioned medium increased the proliferation and invasiveness of PANC-1 cells. Moreover, transforming growth factor-ß1 caused a further increase in CTGF expression in these cells. In vivo, the twice weekly i.p. administration of FG-3019 decreased tumor growth and metastasis and attenuated tumor angiogenesis and cancer cell proliferation. FG-3019 did not enhance apoptosis and did not attenuate the inhibitory effects of gemcitabine on tumor growth and metastasis. These findings suggest that CTGF may contribute to aberrant autocrine and paracrine pathways that promote pancreatic cancer cell growth, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis. Therefore, blocking CTGF actions with FG-3019 may represent a novel therapeutic approach in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. [Mol Cancer Ther 2006;5(5):1108–16]

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Received 12/12/05; revised 2/ 9/06; accepted 3/17/06.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Leask and D. J. Abraham All in the CCN family: essential matricellular signaling modulators emerge from the bunker J. Cell Sci., December 1, 2006; 119(23): 4803 - 4810. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Ijichi, A. Chytil, A. E. Gorska, M. E. Aakre, Y. Fujitani, S. Fujitani, C. V.E. Wright, and H. L. Moses Aggressive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in mice caused by pancreas-specific blockade of transforming growth factor-beta signaling in cooperation with active Kras expression. Genes & Dev., November 15, 2006; 20(22): 3147 - 3160. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]