Proadrenomedullin NH2-terminal 20 peptide is a potent angiogenic factor, and its inhibition results in reduction of tumor growth

We have found through ex vivo and in vivo angiogenesis models that the adrenomedullin gene-related peptide, proadrenomedullin NH2-terminal 20 peptide (PAMP), exhibits a potent angiogenic potential at femtomolar concentrations, whereas classic angiogenic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor and adrenomedullin mediate a comparable effect at nanomolar concentrations. We found that human microvascular endothelial cells express PAMP receptors and respond to exogenous addition of PAMP by increasing migration and cord formation. Exposure of endothelial cells to PAMP increases gene expression of other angiogenic factors such as adrenomedullin, vascular endothelial growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, and platelet-derived growth factor C. In addition, the peptide fragment PAMP(12-20) inhibits tumor cell-induced angiogenesis in vivo and reduces tumor growth in xenograft models. Together, our data demonstrate PAMP to be an extremely potent angiogenic factor and implicate this peptide as an attractive molecular target for angiogenesis-based antitumor therapy.