Foubert Philippe, Varner Judith A
Moores UCSD Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Methods Mol Biol. 2012;757:471-86. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-166-6_27.
Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessel, plays an important role for the growth and metastasis of malignant tumors. The recent identification of specific growth factors for lymphatic vessels and of new lymphatic-specific markers provided evidence for an active role of the lymphatic system during the tumor growth and metastasis processes. Tumor lymphangiogenesis has been shown to play a role in promoting tumor growth and metastasis of tumor cells to distant sites. Integrins play keys roles in the regulation of angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis during normal development and several diseases. Indeed, integrins control vascular and lymphatic endothelial cell adhesion, migration, and survival. Importantly, integrin inhibitors can block angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. In this chapter, we will highlight the role of integrins during angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis as well as the function of individual integrins during vascular development, postnatal angiogenesis, and lymphangiogenesis. We discuss the role of integrins as potential therapeutic targets for the control of tumor angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and metastatic spread in the treatment of cancer. We also describe methods to analyze expression and function of integrins during angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis.
血管生成，即新血管的形成，在恶性肿瘤的生长和转移过程中起着重要作用。最近对淋巴管特异性生长因子和新的淋巴管特异性标志物的鉴定，为淋巴系统在肿瘤生长和转移过程中的积极作用提供了证据。肿瘤淋巴管生成已被证明在促进肿瘤生长以及肿瘤细胞向远处转移中发挥作用。整合素在正常发育和多种疾病过程中，对血管生成和淋巴管生成的调节起着关键作用。事实上，整合素控制着血管和淋巴管内皮细胞的黏附、迁移及存活。重要的是，整合素抑制剂能够阻断血管生成和淋巴管生成。在本章中，我们将重点阐述整合素在血管生成和淋巴管生成过程中的作用，以及各个整合素在血管发育、出生后血管生成和淋巴管生成过程中的功能。我们将讨论整合素作为控制肿瘤血管生成、淋巴管生成及癌症治疗中转移扩散的潜在治疗靶点的作用。我们还将描述在血管生成和淋巴管生成过程中分析整合素表达和功能的方法。
