Abstract
The angiogenic growth factor Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-C (VEGF-C) and its
receptor VEGFR-3 are also known to be implicated in the development of lymphatic vessels.
We assessed the expression of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3, together with blood and lymphatic
vessel extents and proliferation index (PI) values, by immunohistochemistry (IHC)
in 6 normal human pituitary glands and 53 pituitary adenomas of different tumour grade,
on consecutive tissue sections. VEGF-C was detected in around 10% of the endocrine
cells in normal pituitary tissue, while this gland was devoid of lymphatic vascularization
and showed very few vessels positive for VEGFR-3. Concerning tumour tissue, most of
the adenomas showing VEGF-C immunoreactivity (21/47) were positive in 60% of the tumour
cells and the ones positive for VEGFR-3 showed a number of immunostained vessels higher
than those observed in the normal pituitary. Most of the tumours positive for VEGFR-3
did not show any LYVE-1 positive vessels (18/53), suggesting that at least in these
cases, VEGFR-3 is expressed on blood vessels. Nevertheless, we observed a significant
association between low expression of VEGFR-3 and low lymphatic vessel number, suggesting
that VEGFR-3 might be involved in the starting of de novo lymphangiogenesis in this tumour type. Moreover, tumours bearing lymphatic vessels
showed the tendency to shift towards a more aggressive behaviour (high tumour grade
and high PI). In conclusion, the VEGF-C/VEGFR-3 system might be involved in controlling
tumour angiogenesis in the pituitary adenomas lacking lymphatic vessels, but may also
play a role in starting the process of tumour lymphangiogenesis.
Key words
VEGF-C - VEGFR-3 - pituitary adenomas - LYVE-1 - lymphatic vessels
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Correspondence
Dr. C. Onofri
Department of Neuroendocrinology
Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry
Kraepelinstr. 10
80804 Munich
Germany
Phone: +49/89/306 223 69
Fax: +49/89/306 226 05
Email: onofri@mpipsykl.mpg.de
