ATL-1, an analogue of aspirin-triggered lipoxin A4, is a potent inhibitor of several steps in angiogenesis induced by vascular endothelial growth factor

Background and purpose: Vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF) is the most important proangiogenic protein. We have demonstrated that ATL-1, a synthetic analogue of aspirin-triggered lipoxin A(4), inhibits VEGF-induced endothelial cell (EC) migration. In the present study, we investigated the effects of ATL-1 in several other actions stimulated by VEGF. Methods: Human umbilical vein ECs were treated with ATL-1 for 30 min before stimulation with VEGF. Cell proliferation was measured by thymidine incorporation. Adherent cells were determined by fluorescence intensity using a Multilabel counter. Expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) were analysed by western blot and zymography. Key results: ATL-1 inhibited EC adhesion to fibronectin via interaction with its specific receptor. Furthermore, VEGF-induced MMP-9 activity and expression were reduced by pretreatment with ATL-1. Because the transcription factor NF-kappa B has been implicated in VEGF-mediated MMP expression and EC proliferation, we postulated that ATL-1 might modulate the NF-kappa B pathway and, indeed, ATL-1 inhibited NF-kappa B nuclear translocation. Pretreatment of EC with ATL-1 strongly decreased VEGF-dependent phosphorylation of phosphainositide 3-kinase (PI3-K) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase-2 (ERK-2), two signalling kinases involved in EC proliferation. Inhibition of VEGF-induced EC proliferation by ATL-1 was antagonized by sodium orthovanadate, suggesting that this inhibitory activity was mediated by a protein tyrosine phosphatase. This was confirmed by showing that ATL-1 inhibition of VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) phosphorylation correlates with SHP-1 association with VEGFR-2. Conclusions and implications: The synthetic 15-epi-lipoxin analogue, ATL-1, is a highly potent molecule exerting its effects on multiple steps of the VEGF-induced angiogenesis.