IMR Press / FBL / Volume 14 / Issue 13 / DOI: 10.2741/3573

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Transforming growth factor-beta signaling and tumor angiogenesis
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1 Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2009, 14(13), 4848–4861; https://doi.org/10.2741/3573
Published: 1 June 2009
Abstract

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family members are secreted multifunctional cytokines that play pivotal roles in development and disease. The prototypic member of this family, TGF-beta, plays a dual role in carcinogenesis, acting as a tumor suppressor in early stages and as tumor promoter in late stages of tumor progression. Numerous studies support the notion that pathological angiogenesis is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Tumor angiogenesis is regulated by a network of growth factors, including members of the TGF-beta family. TGF-beta acts in a context-dependent manner and can either stimulate or inhibit tumor angiogenesis. In this review, we discuss our current understanding on how TGF-beta family members affect endothelial and smooth muscle cell function and how perturbed TGF-beta signaling may contribute to tumor angiogenesis and tumor progression.

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