The role of neuropilin 2 in physiological and pathological angiogenesis

Neuropilin 2 (NRP2) is a transmembrane receptor protein that was first discovered on neurons and then endothelial cells. On endothelial cells, it serves as co-receptor with the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) to bind VEGF and induce a pro-(lymph)angiogenic intracellular signal. In addition to VEGF, NRP2 is also a receptor for semaphorin 3F (SEMA3F), which upon binding to NRP2 and Plexin A1 induces a strong anti-angiogenic signal. It is our hypothesis that SEMA3F could be a potentially effective treatment for metastatic cancers. A greater understanding of the regulation and expression of its receptor, NRP2, is needed. While NRP2 has been most robustly studied for its role in the vasculature, recent studies have shown that it is expressed on other cell types as well such as dendritic cells, T-cells, and visceral smooth muscle cells. In this study, we used western blot and immunohistochemistry to explore various different organs and cell types in an attempt to locate other novel locations of NRP2 expression. In particular, we found several new tissues that express NRP2