QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online May 20, 2009
doi: 10.1242/jcs.030197

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Capparuccia, L. Articles by Tamagnone, L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Capparuccia, L. Articles by Tamagnone, L. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Semaphorin signaling in cancer cells and in cells of the tumor microenvironment – two sides of a coin

Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (IRCC), University of Turin, S.P. 142, 10060, Candiolo (TO), Italy

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: luca.tamagnone{at}ircc.it)

Semaphorins are a large family of secreted and membrane-bound molecules that were initially implicated in the development of the nervous system and in axon guidance. More recently, they have been found to regulate cell adhesion and motility, angiogenesis, immune responses, and tumor progression. Semaphorin receptors, the neuropilins and the plexins, are expressed by a wide variety of cell types, including endothelial cells, bone-marrow-derived cells and cancer cells. Interestingly, a growing body of evidence indicates that semaphorins also have an important role in cancer. It is now known that cancer progression, invasion and metastasis involve not only genetic changes in the tumor cells but also crosstalk between tumor cells and their surrounding non-tumor cells. Through the recruitment of endothelial cells, leukocytes, pericytes and fibroblasts, and the local release of growth factors and cytokines, the tumor microenvironment can mediate tumor-cell survival, tumor proliferation and regulation of the immune response. Moreover, by conferring cancer cells with an enhanced ability to migrate and invade adjacent tissues, extracellular regulatory signals can play a major role in the metastatic process. In this Commentary, we focus on the emerging role of semaphorins in mediating the crosstalk between tumor cells and multiple stromal cell types in the surrounding microenvironment.

Key words: Semaphorins, Plexins, Tumor, Tumor microenvironment

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Coma, D. N. Amin, A. Shimizu, A. Lasorella, A. Iavarone, and M. Klagsbrun Id2 Promotes Tumor Cell Migration and Invasion through Transcriptional Repression of Semaphorin 3F Cancer Res., May 1, 2010; 70(9): 3823 - 3832. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Esselens, J. Malapeira, N. Colome, C. Casal, J. C. Rodriguez-Manzaneque, F. Canals, and J. Arribas The Cleavage of Semaphorin 3C Induced by ADAMTS1 Promotes Cell Migration J. Biol. Chem., January 22, 2010; 285(4): 2463 - 2473. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]