Activating transcription factor 4 promotes angiogenesis of breast cancer through enhanced macrophage recruitment

Angiogenesis plays an important role in the progression of tumor. Besides being regulated by tumor cells per se, tumor angiogenesis is also influenced by stromal cells in tumor microenvironment (TME), for example, tumor associated macrophages (TAMs). Activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), a member of the ATF/CREB family, has been reported to be related to tumor angiogenesis. In this study, we found that exogenous overexpression of ATF4 in mouse breast cancer cells promotes tumor growth via increasing tumor microvascular density. However, ATF4 overexpression failed to increase the expression level of a series of proangiogenic factors including vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) in tumor cells in this model. Thus, we further investigated the infiltration of proangiogenic macrophages in tumor tissues and found that ATF4-overexpressing tumors could recruit more macrophages via secretion of macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF). Overall, we concluded that exogenous overexpression of ATF4 in breast cancer cells may facilitate the recruitment of macrophages into tumor tissues and promote tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth indirectly.