Possible Role and Therapeutic Target of PDGF-D Signalling in Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Platelet-derived growth factor D (PDGF-D) has been shown to mediate cellular processes of importance in cancer progression. This study aimed to investigate the expression and putative involvement of PDGF-D signaling in colorectal carcinogenesis. PDGF-D was expressed in vascular endothelial cells in tumor and normal tissues. PDGF-D stimulation of cells altered genes of importance in carcinogenic processes. In addition, PDGF-D increased the proliferation rate while imatinib inhibited these effects. PDGF-D and its PDGF receptor beta (PDGFR-β) are expressed in colorectal cancer and blockage of PDGF-D/PDGFR-β signaling using tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as imatinib, might be important in inhibiting tumor-promoting actions.

Keywords:

• Angiogenesis
• Colorectal cancer
• Imatinib
• PDGF-D
• Proliferation

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Petra Hagendorff and Sabrina Kaser, Genome Analytics, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany for their excellent technical support.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Foundation of Clinical Cancer Research, Jönköping, Sweden under Grant 110426-1; Futurum - the Academy for Health and Care, County Council of Jönköping, Sweden under Grant FUTURUM-105891; and FORSS, the Research Council of South-Eastern Sweden, Sweden under Grant FORSS-373251.