Melanoma-Induced Endothelial Cell Growth Involves Phospholipase A2 and COX2 Upregulation

Abstract

Angiogenesis, the process of formation of new vessels, is fundamental in many biological processes including development, reproduction and wound repair. In tumor biology, key biochemical questions remain to be answered, in particular the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for establishing melanoma new vessels. The search of role for already identified soluble factors in experimental cell models encompassing brain endothelial cells, murine melanoma cell lines and pericytes could expand our molecular understanding of cerebral melanoma proliferation. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize existing knowledge of biochemical mechanisms of melanoma adhesion and angiogenesis, as well as new experimental data on the enzymatic and signaling cross-talk between tumor and microvascular cells.