title: The potential of class 3 semaphorins as both targets and therapeutics in cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Semaphorins have been originally identified as a family of evolutionary conserved soluble or membrane-associated proteins involved in diverse developmental phenomena. This family of proteins profoundly influences numerous pathophysiological processes, including organogenesis, cardiovascular development and immune response. Apart from steering the neural networking process, these are implicated in a broad range of biological operations including regulation of tumor progression and angiogenesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Members of class 3 semaphorin family are known to modulate various cellular processes involved in malignant transformation. Some of the family members trigger diverse signaling processes involved in tumor progression and angiogenesis by binding with plexin and neuropilin. A better understanding of the various signaling mechanisms by which semaphorins modulate tumor progression and angiogenesis may serve as crucial tool in crafting new semaphorin-based anticancer therapy. These include treatment with recombinant tumor suppressive semaphorins or inhibition of tumor-promoting semaphorins by their specific siRNAs, small-molecule inhibitors or specific receptors using neutralizing antibodies or blocking peptides that might serve as novel strategies for effective management of cancers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review focuses on all the possible avenues to explore various members of class 3 semaphorin family to serve as therapeutics for combating cancer.
authors.affiliation: Loboratory of Tumor Biology, Angiogenesis and Nanomedicine Research, National Center for Cell Science (NCCS) , Pune 411007 , India kundu@nccs.res.in.
authors.forename: Rosalin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: Dhiraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Deepti
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tomar
authors.forename: Goutam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
authors.forename: Santosh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Gopal C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Kundu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D018450:Disease Progression; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D039961:Semaphorins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D039961:Semaphorins
keywords: RNAi technology; angiogenesis; metastasis; neuropilin; plexin; semaphorin; small-molecule inhibitors; targeted therapy; tumor microenvironment