title: Semaphorin signaling in vascular and tumor biology.
abstract: The neuropilins were originally characterized as cell membrane receptors that bind axon guidance factors belonging to the class-3 semaphorin subfamily. To transduce semaphorin signals, they form complexes with members of the plexin receptor family in which neuropilins serve as the ligand binding components and the plexins as the signal transducing components. The neuropilins were subsequently found to double as receptors for specific heparin binding splice forms of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and to be expressed on endothelial cells. This finding suggested that semaphorins may function as modulators of angiogenesis. It was recently found that several types of semaphorins such as semaphorin-3F function as inhibitors of angiogenesis while others, most notably semaphorin-4D, function as angiogenic factors. Furthermore, semaphorins such as semaphorin-3F and semaphorin-3B have been characterized as tumor suppressors and have been found to exert direct effects upon tumor cells. In this chapter we cover recent developments in this rapidly developing field of research.
authors.affiliation: Cancer and Vascular Biology Research Center, Rappaport Research Institute in the Medical Sciences, The Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, 1 Efron St., P.O. Box 9679, Haifa, 31096, Israel. gera@tx.technion.ac.il
authors.forename: Gera
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Neufeld
authors.forename: Tali
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.forename: Asya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Varshavsky
authors.forename: Ofra
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kessler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology; D039961:Semaphorins / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D039961:Semaphorins