Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 21, 2015; 21(23): 7065-7073
Published online Jun 21, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i23.7065
Neuropilins and liver
Gülsüm Özlem Elpek
Gülsüm Özlem Elpek, Department of Pathology, Medical School, Akdeniz University, Antalya 07070, Turkey
Author contributions: Elpek GÖ solely analyzed the data and wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest: The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Gülsüm Özlem Elpek, MD, Professor, Department of Pathology, Medical School, Akdeniz University, Dumlupınar Bulvarı, Antalya 07070, Turkey. elpek@akdeniz.edu.tr
Telephone: +90-242-2496389 Fax: +90-242-2275540
Received: January 28, 2015
Peer-review started: January 28, 2015
First decision: March 10, 2015
Revised: March 23, 2015
Accepted: April 28, 2015
Article in press: April 28, 2015
Published online: June 21, 2015
Core Tip

Core tip: The contribution of neuropilins (NRPs) to tumor angiogenesis has been identified in previous research, which has led to the development of NRP-targeted therapies. Although the number of relevant studies is too small to ascertain the precise role of NRPs in liver, the evidence implies an association with tumor behavior, liver regeneration and the progression of fibrosis. The interplay between NRPs and vascular endothelial growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor and transforming growth factor-β support NRPs as potential targets in the prevention of fibrogenesis in chronic liver diseases. However, further studies are needed to clarify whether NRPs may fill the large gaps in our understanding and ability to treat liver diseases.