Chemotherapy-induced acute vascular injury involves intracellular generation of ROS via activation of the acid sphingomyelinase pathway

Several categories of chemotherapy confer substantial risk for late-term vascular morbidity and mortality. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the mechanism of acute chemotherapy-induced vascular injury in normal tissues. Specifically, we looked at activation of the acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase)/ceramide pathway, which leads to generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and induction of oxidative stress that may result in vascular injury. In particular, we focused on two distinct drugs, doxorubicin (DOX) and cisplatin (CIS) and their effects on normal endothelial cells. In vitro, DOX resulted in increased ASMase activity, intra-cellular ROS production and induction of apoptosis. CIS treatment generated significantly reduced effects in endothelial cells. In-vivo, murine femoral arterial blood flow was measured in real-time, during and after DOX or CIS administration, using fluorescence optical imaging system. While DOX caused constriction of small vessels and disintegration of large vessels' wall, CIS induced minor vascular changes in arterial blood flow, correlating with the in vitro findings. These results demonstrate that DOX induces acute vascular injury by increased ROS production, via activation of ASMase/ceramide pathway, while CIS increases ROS production and its immediate extracellular translocation, without causing detectable acute vascular injury. Our findings may potentially lead to the development of new strategies to prevent long-term cardiovascular morbidity in cancer survivors.