Angiopoietin-1 and myeloma-induced angiogenesis.
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy characterized by an increase of the bone marrow angiogenesis. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) is a critical factor in the regulation of physiological and pathological vessel formation that acts by binding to a specific receptor Tie2 expressed on endothelial cells. Recent evidences indicate that human MM cells produce Ang-1 and up-regulate its receptor Tie2 in bone marrow endothelial cells. An overexpression of Ang-1 has been also found in MM cells as compared to normal plasma cells. The correlation between Ang-1 expression and BM angiogenesis, demonstrated in MM patients, and the inhibitory effect of Tie2 blocking on MM-induced vessel formation suggest that Ang-1 production by MM cells is critically involved in the angiogenic process in MM. In this review we focalize our attention on Ang-1/Tie2 system and its role in MM-induced angiogenesis.
Giuliani
Nicola
N
Multiple Myeloma Research Unit, Chair of Hematology and BMT Center, University of Parma, Italy. N_Guiliani@yahoo.com
Colla
Simona
S
Morandi
Francesca
F
Rizzoli
Vittorio
V
D042683:Angiopoietin-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D015398:Signal Transduction; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000378:metabolism
D042683:Angiopoietin-1