image 6
image 7
image 2
image 3
image 4
image 1
image 8
image 5

The Rappaport Institute looks forward to continuing to make substantial future contributions in biomedical research"

Professor Karl Skorecki
General
|

Semaphorins

Class-3 semaphorins were originally identified as axon guidance factors. They bind to the two receptors of the neuropilin family. These receptors form complexes with receptors of the plexins family to form functional class-3 semaphorin receptors. In some cases however, such as in the case of semaphorin-3E, a plexins can serve as a stand alone receptor. These receptors are expressed by many types of tumor cells as well as by endothelial cells of blood vessels (Neufeld et al., 2008). Work from the laboratory of Prof. Neufeld identified initially the class-3 semaphorin semaphorin-3F as a potent inhibitor of tumor angiogenesis (Kessler et al., 2004). Subsequent work identified additional class-3 semaphorins as regulators of angiogenesis and tumor progression (Kigel et al., 2008). Since class-3 semaphorins are secreted factors and seem to function as secreted inhibitors of tumor progression and tumor angiogenesis that are lost as tumors evolve and become ever more malignant (Maione et al., 2009), these findings suggest that their re-introduction into the tumor microenvironment could be used to inhibit tumor progression. This possibility is currently under examination.

Copyright © 2014 BioRap Technologies LTD. All Rights Reserved. Created by Catom web design