Review Article Netrins and Their Roles in Placental Angiogenesis

Copyright © 2014 Mbarka Dakouane-Giudicelli et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Netrins, a family of laminin-related proteins, were originally identified as axonal guidance molecules. Subsequently, netrins were found to modulate various biological processes including morphogenesis, tumorogenesis, adhesion, and, recently, angiogenesis. In human placenta, the most vascularized organ, the presence of netrins has also been reported. Recent studies demonstrated the involvement of netrins in the regulation of placental angiogenesis. In this review we focused on the role of netrins in human placental angiogenesis. Among all netrins examined, netrin-4 and netrin-1 have been found to be either pro- or antiangiogenic factors.These opposite effects appear to be related to the endothelial cell phenotype studied and seem also to depend on the receptor type to which netrin binds, that is, the canonical receptor member of the DCC family, the members of the UNC5 family, or the noncanonical receptor members of the integrin family or DSCAM. 1. Vascular and Nervous Systems Similarities The vascular and nervous systems share similarities at the anatomical and cellular levels: indeed both systems are a web of highly branched and complicated networks.The vessel sys