Neuropilins in Tumor Biology: Fig. 1.

Neuropilins in tumor biology.

The neuropilin receptors were first discovered as regulators of nervous system development, acting as semaphorin coreceptors with plexins. Subsequently, the neuropilins were identified as receptors for vascular endothelial growth factor. Since those seminal discoveries, additional ligands that bind neuropilins have been described, and many studies have implicated neuropilins in playing key role...

Fig. 1

Neuropilins and Semaphorins

Our investigations started with the question, why are there so many VEGF isoforms? One possibility that was considered was that some isoforms may interact with receptors other than VEGFR1 and VEGFR2, the only VEGF receptors known at that time. Cross-linking studies using labeled VEGF165 and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) revealed two crosslinking products that were missing in cr...

The role of neuropilins in cell signalling.

NRPs (neuropilins) are receptors for class 3 semaphorins, polypeptides essential for axonal guidance, and for members of the VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) family of angiogenic cytokines. While mutant mouse studies show that NRP1 is essential for neuronal and cardiovascular development, little is known concerning the molecular mechanisms through which NRPs mediate the functions of th...

Neuropilins are multifunctional coreceptors involved in tumor initiation, growth, metastasis and immunity

The neuropilins (Nrps) are multifunctional proteins involved in development, immunity and cancer. Neuropilin-1 (Nrp1), or its homologue neuropilin-2 (Nrp2), are coreceptors that enhance responses to several growth factors (GFs) and other mediators. Nrps are coreceptors for the class 3 semaphorins (SEMA3), involved in axonal guidance, and several members of the vascular endothelial growth factor...