title: Angiogenic factors in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL): Where do we stand?
abstract: The role of angiogenesis in haematological malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is difficult to envision, because leukaemia cells are not dependent on a network of blood vessels to support basic physiological requirements. Regardless, CLL cells secrete high levels of major angiogenic factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and platelet derived growth factor (PDGF). Nonetheless, it remains unclear how most angiogenic factors regulate accumulation and delayed apoptosis of CLL cells. Angiogenic factors such as leptin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), follistatin, angiopoietin-1 (Ang1), angiogenin (ANG), midkine (MK), pleiotrophin (PTN), progranulin (PGRN), proliferin (PLF), placental growth factor (PIGF), and endothelial locus-1 (Del-1), represent novel therapeutic targets of future CLL research but have remained widely overlooked. This review aims to outline our current understanding of angiogenic growth factors and their relationship with CLL, a still uncured haematopoietic malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Department I of Internal Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: luis.aguirre-palma_@uk-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Luis Mario
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Aguirre Palma
authors.affiliation: Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada. Electronic address: Iris.Gehrke@cancercare.mb.ca.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gehrke
authors.affiliation: Department I of Internal Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: karl-anton.kreuzer@uni-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Karl-Anton
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Kreuzer
mesh_terms: D043925:Angiogenesis Inducing Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D015973:Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic; D006801:Humans; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D043925:Angiogenesis Inducing Agents
keywords: Angiogenesis; Angiogenic factors; Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL); Microenvironment; Pathological angiogenesis