Recent investigations highlighted strong similarities between neural crest migration during embryogenesis and metastatic processes. Indeed, some families of axon guidance molecules were also reported to participate in cancer invasion: plexins/semaphorins/neuropilins, ephrins/Eph receptors, netrin/DCC/UNC5. Neuropilins (NRPs) are transmembrane non tyrosine-kinase glycoproteins first identified a...

Loss of the 3p21.3-encoded semaphorins, SEMA3B and SEMA3F, is implicated in lung cancer development. Although both antagonize VEGF binding/response to neuropilin (NRP) receptors, in lung cancer lines, SEMA3F is predominantly expressed and preferentially utilizes NRP2. In lung cancer patients, SEMA3F loss correlates with advanced disease and increased VEGF binding to tumor cells. In cell lines, ...

Class 3 semaphorins are well-known axonal guidance cues during the embryonic development of mammalian nervous system. However, their activity on postnatally differentiated neurons in neurogenic regions of adult brains has not been characterized. We found that silencing of semaphorin receptors neuropilins (NRP) 1 or 2 in neural progenitors at the adult mouse dentate gyrus resulted in newly diffe...

Cranial neural crest cells (NCCs) migrate into the pharyngeal arches in three primary streams separated by two cranial neural crest (NC)-free zones. Multiple tissues have been implicated in the guidance of cranial NCC migration; however, the signals provided by these tissues have remained elusive. We investigate the function of semaphorins (semas) and their receptors, neuropilins (nrps), in cra...

Background Neuropilin-2 (NRP2) is a single transmembrane pleiotropic receptor that utilizes co-receptors for signal transduction and known to impact tumor progression metastasis. 1 Deletion of NRP2 in murine tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) downregulated several immunosuppressive tumor-promoting genes upregulated immune-stimulatory the myeloid compartment. 2 However, little about role human ...

Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) and NRP2 are cell surface receptors shared by class 3 semaphorins and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Ligand interaction with NRPs selects the specific signal transducer, plexins for semaphorins or VEGF receptors for VEGF, and promotes NRP internalization, which effectively shuts down receptor-mediated signaling by a second ligand. Here, we show that the sulfated ...

BACKGROUND & AIMS There is a close relationship between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and lichen planus, a chronic inflammatory mucocutaneous disease. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genetic variants associated with HCV-related lichen planus. METHODS We conducted a GWAS of 261 patients with HCV infection treated at a tertiary medical center in Japan from Oc...

The wiring of neuronal circuits requires complex mechanisms to guide axon subsets to their specific target with high precision. To overcome the limited number of guidance cues, modulation of axon responsiveness is crucial for specifying accurate trajectories. We report here a novel mechanism by which ligand/receptor co-expression in neurons modulates the integration of other guidance cues by th...

Dendritic cell (DC) migration to secondary lymphoid organs is a critical step to properly exert its role in immunity and predominantly depends on the interaction of the chemokine receptor CCR7 with its ligands CCL21 and CCL19. Polysialic acid (PSA) has been recently reported to control CCL21-directed migration of mature DCs. Here, we first demonstrate that PSA present on human mature monocyte-d...