Angiogenesis in Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Opportunities for Novel Therapies

Figure 3

Multiple Mechanisms of Angiogenic Pathways Regulate Acute Myleoid Leukemia Survival and Proliferation. Acute myeloid leukemia cells exploit angiogenic mechanisms by (1) inducing angiogenesis directly, (2) expressing receptors for specific angiogenic growth factors (paracrine regulation), and (3) secreting their own angiogenic factors for their own angiogenic growth factor receptors (autocrine stimulation). Thus, angiogenesis has both cell-extrinsic and cell-intrinsic significance in leukemia. Stem cell factor (SCF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are a few of many yet to be defined angiogenic factors that regulate leukemia cell survival and proliferation.