Erythropoietin and its relationship with tumor growth / by Carroll R. Smith III.

Author/creator Smith, Carroll R. author.
Other author Sigounas, George, degree supervisor.
Other author East Carolina University. Department of Biology.
Format Theses and dissertations
Production2007.
Description77 leaves : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm
Supplemental ContentAccess via ScholarShip
Subjects

Summary Erythropoietin (EPO) is a glycoprotein widely used to correct the disease-related and drug-induced anemia observed in cancer patients. Several studies have reported that EPO is a pleiotropic cytokine. Recently, a number of investigators have reported that various human cancer cell lines express EPO and the EPO receptor (EPOR), raising suspicion for the presence of an autocrine-paracrine EPO-EPOR system. In this study, we assessed whether or not EPO enhances tumor metastasis of Lewis lung carcinoma (LCC) cells. Furthermore, we assessed the effect of EPO on cancer cell growth both in vivo and in vitro. The levels of VEGF and SDF-1 in plasma and cultures were also determined. We found that there was a statistically significant difference in tumor growth between saline treated and EPO-treated animals (p[less-than]0.05). However, the number of lung metastases derived from primary tumors was similar in both groups. The average volume of lung nodules was 24% higher in saline-injected animals compared to EPO-treated mice. The plasma VEGF level in tumor-bearing animals treated with EPO was reduced by 20% compared to the control mice. EEC cells cultured in the presence of EPO secreted lower levels of VEGF compared to the controls. In conclusion, this study shows that the growth of tumors was slower in EPO-treated animals, while EPO had no effect on the number of metastases. The tumor inhibitory effect of EPO may be mediated through the down regulation of VEGF via a VEGF/EPO negative regulation loop.
General notePresented to the faculty of the Department of Biology.
General noteAdvisor: George Sigounas
Dissertation noteM.S. East Carolina University 2007
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 70-77).
Genre/formAcademic theses.
Genre/formAcademic theses.
Genre/formThèses et écrits académiques.

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