Role of Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cells on Mammary Tumor Angiogenesis, Growth and Metastasis, and the Influence of VEGF-A and PIGF on Their Recruitment

摘要

The goal of this CDA was to investigate the regulation of Endothelial precursor cells by endothelial cell specific cytokines in mammary tumors. Initial studies anticipated a critical role of VEGF and PlGF, based on their ability to promote survival signaling in endothelial cells. Our investigations also pointed to another cytokine-receptor family-the Tie-2 signaling pathway in EPCs in breast cancer and in survival signaling through the Akt pathway (1, 2). Ongoing studies have pointed to Akt as a common downstream signaling pathway that may mediate proliferation and homing of EPCs to mammary tissue and mammary tumors. Transgenic models are proposed to regulate Akt signaling and mammary tumor promotion to investigate the I relationship between EPCs and mammary tumor angiogenesis.