Issues

Atu027, a liposomal siRNA, is a novel RNAi therapeutic for cancer therapy suppressing PKN3 gene expression in endothelial cells of the vasculature. In cultured human endothelial cells (HUVEC), Atu027 mediated downregulation of PKN3 led to increased levels of the adhesion protein vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin. The different levels of VE-cadherin protein are depicted in this image in a color-coded manner reflecting highest VE-cadherin levels as red colored membrane staining. The authors show that Atu027 treatment modulates the vascular endothelium in a way that metastasis through the blood vessels to the lung is effectively inhibited. For further details, please see Santel and colleagues on page 5469 in this issue.