Journal article

Impact of CD39 and purinergic signalling on the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer

BM Künzli, MI Bernlochner, S Rath, S Käser, E Csizmadia, K Enjyoji, P Cowan, A d'Apice, K Dwyer, R Rosenberg, A Perren, H Friess, CA Maurer, SC Robson

Purinergic Signalling | Published : 2011

Abstract

Despite improvements in prevention and management of colorectal cancer (CRC), uncontrolled tumor growth with metastatic spread to distant organs remains an important clinical concern. Genetic deletion of CD39, the dominant vascular and immune cell ectonucleotidase, has been shown to delay tumor growth and blunt angiogenesis in mouse models of melanoma, lung and colonic malignancy. Here, we tested the influence of CD39 on CRC tumor progression and metastasis by investigating orthotopic transplanted and metastatic cancer models in wild-type BALB/c, human CD39 transgenic and CD39 deficient mice. We also investigated CD39 and P2 receptor expression patterns in human CRC biopsies. Murine CD39 was..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by National Institutes of Health


Funding Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr. Kirk Ives and Dr. CM Townsend (UTMB, Galveston, USA) for their support in the present study and for providing our institution with the MC-26 mouse colorectal cancer cell line. Grants-this work was supported by the German Research Foundation Grants (DFG KU 1957/1-1 and DFG KU 1957/3-1 to B. M. K.) and the National Institute of Health (NIH HL63972 and HL076540 to S.C.R).