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Cancer

Blood vessels kept quiet

Nature volume 458, pages 41–42 (2009)Cite this article

Tumours must get their oxygen fix, otherwise invasive tumour growth and spread can occur. One way of quelling oxygen-deprived tumours might be through manipulating the oxygen sensor PHD2.

Beyond the limits of diffusion, tumour maintenance depends both on an adequate supply of oxygen and on removal of metabolic waste by the blood. When blood vessels can't supply enough oxygen, tumour cells invade the surrounding normal tissue in search of oxygen and might even metastasize to other tissues. Endothelial cells line blood vessels and so are the gateway to tissue oxygenation. It is therefore essential to define the molecules and pathways in these cells, not only for a better understanding of cancer, but also to develop more effective anticancer therapies. Writing in Cell, Mazzone et al.1 identify the PHD2 protein as a key regulator of oxygen supply to tumours, and suggest that it may be involved in the shaping of blood-vessel networks.

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Figure 1: PHD2 and tumour vasculature.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Andrew V. Benest and Hellmut G. Augustin are in the Joint Research Division Vascular Biology of the Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg (CBTM), and in the German Cancer Research Centre Heidelberg (DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance), INF280, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. augustin@angiogenese.de,

    Andrew V. Benest & Hellmut G. Augustin

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  1. Andrew V. Benest
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  2. Hellmut G. Augustin
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Benest, A., Augustin, H. Blood vessels kept quiet. Nature 458, 41–42 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/458041a

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