Unraveling Bv8

Researchers at Genentech Inc. have added three big pieces to the puzzle of how prokineticin 2 (PROK2; Bv8), a cytokine secreted by myeloid cells in the bone marrow, regulates tumor-related angiogenesis. The findings, published in Nature, show that expression of Bv8 is upregulated by G-CSF and by tumors, and that anti-Bv8 antibodies have synergy with both anti-VEGF antibodies and chemotherapeutics.

These results suggest that anti-Bv8 antibodies could be combined with other angiogenesis inhibitors to improve cancer therapy, including Genentech's anti-VEGF antibody, Avastin bevacizumab, which is marketed for metastatic colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer...