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PMID: 22988448 Published · epublish English Journal Article

Podoplanin: emerging functions in development, the immune system, and cancer.

Frontiers in immunology ·Vol. 3 ·2012-00-00 ·Pages 283

Astarita JL, Acton SE, Turley SJ

Abstract

Podoplanin (PDPN) is a well-conserved, mucin-type transmembrane protein expressed in multiple tissues during ontogeny and in adult animals, including the brain, heart, kidney, lungs, osteoblasts, and lymphoid organs. Studies of PDPN-deficient mice have demonstrated that this molecule plays a critical role in development of the heart, lungs, and lymphatic system. PDPN is widely used as a marker for lymphatic endothelial cells and fibroblastic reticular cells of lymphoid organs and for lymphatics in the skin and tumor microenvironment. Much of the mechanistic insight into PDPN biology has been gleaned from studies of tumor cells; tumor cells often upregulate PDPN as they undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition and this upregulation is correlated with increased motility and metastasis. The physiological role of PDPN that has been most studied is its ability to aggregate and activate CLEC-2-expressing platelets, as PDPN is the only known endogenous ligand for CLEC-2. However, more recent studies have revealed that PDPN also plays crucial roles in the biology of immune cells, including T cells and dendritic cells. This review will provide a comprehensive overview of the diverse roles of PDPN in development, immunology, and cancer.

Keywords
CLEC-2 cancer-associated fibroblasts lymph node stromal cells lymphatic endothelial cells platelets podoplanin
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Astarita Jillian L
Department of Cancer Immunology and AIDS, Dana Farber Cancer Institute Boston, MA, USA ; Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA.
Acton Sophie E
Turley Shannon J
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Article Info
Journal
Frontiers in immunology
Abbr.
Front Immunol
ISSN
1664-3224
DOI
10.3389/fimmu.2012.00283
Published
2012-00-00
Epub
2012-00-12
Pages
283
Language
English
Region
Switzerland
NLM ID
101560960
PMCID
PMC3439854
Grants
Wellcome Trust · 089009 · United Kingdom
NIAID NIH HHS · P01 AI045757 · United States
NIDDK NIH HHS · R01 DK074500 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2012.00283 PMC Full Text View journal details
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