Abstract
Skin-cancer stem cells secrete a factor that organizes a blood-supply system to fuel tumour growth. But the same factor has another sinister function — it stimulates the stem cells to propagate uncontrollably. See Letter p.399 Experiments in a mouse model of skin papillomas show that the tumour vasculature not only supplies blood, but also serves as a vascular niche environment that supports cancer stem cells. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression by tumour cells is important for angiogenesis, but also acts in an autocrine manner through its receptor to promote self-renewing divisions of cancer stem cells. Deletion of Nrp1 blocked the ability of VEGF to promote tumorigenesis, and may be a viable therapeutic target for skin cancers.
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