Journal: Neoplasia (New York, N.Y.)
Article Title: Cancer-associated VEGFR2 R1032Q sustains receptor activation also by promoting ligand-independent hetero-dimerization with co-expressed wild-type VEGFR2 and translocation into lipid rafts
doi: 10.1016/j.neo.2025.101195
Figure Lengend Snippet: Proliferative effects of VEGFR2 R1032Q expression in VEGFR2 negative vs VEGFR2 expressing cell models. a , Western blot (WB) analysis of total VEGFR2 levels in MCF7 or Sk-Mel-31 cells. Total lysates of non-transfected (NT) cells and of cells transfected to express VEGFR2 WT (WT) or VEGFR2 R1032Q (R1032Q) were analyzed. FAK and α-tubulin levels were measured as loading controls. Images are representative of three independent experiments that gave superimposable results. b , 2D MCF7 cell proliferation. Mean cell number of three biological replicates. c , 2D Sk-Mel-31 cell proliferation. Mean covered area ± SEM of N = 24 biological replicates from three independent experiments. *, p < 0.05, ****, p < 0.001, One-Way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s post-hoc test. d , 3D anchorage-independent MCF7 cell proliferation. Average size of N = 300-1200 cell aggregates from two independent experiments. Representative images, scale bar 200 μm. e , 3D anchorage-independent Sk-Mel-31 cell proliferation. Average size of N = 114-142 cell colonies from two independent experiments. Representative microphotographs, scale bar 200 μm. f-g , in vivo growth of Sk-Mel-31-VEGFR2 WT and Sk-Mel-31-VEGFR2 R1032Q cells injected subcutaneously into the flank of NOD/SCID mice ( N = 11-12). Tumor volume after 35 days ( f ). Immunofluorescence analysis of pVEGFR2 (in green) in tumor FFPE sections at day 35 after implantation. TO-PRO-3 nuclei counterstaining is shown in magenta. Scale bar, 20 μm ( g ). *, p < 0.05, **, p < 0.01,***, p < 0.005, ****, p < 0.001, Student’s t-test.
Article Snippet: To evaluate whether VEGFR2 R1032Q can acquire enzymatic activity upon dimerization with VEGFR2 WT , the kinase activity of proteinA Sepharose (PtA)-adsorbed VEGFR2 WT or VEGFR2 R1032Q immunocomplexes was measured before and after incubation with total lysates of VEGFR2 WT - or VEGFR2 R1032Q -expressing CHO cells.
Techniques: Expressing, Western Blot, Transfection, In Vivo, Injection, Immunofluorescence