Bone marrow-derived CD13⁺ cells sustain tumor progression: A potential non-malignant target for anticancer therapy

Non-malignant cells found within neoplastic lesions express alanyl (membrane) aminopeptidase (ANPEP, best known as CD13), and CD13-null mice exhibit limited tumor growth and angiogenesis. We have recently demonstrated that a subset of bone marrow-derived CD11b⁺CD13⁺ myeloid cells accumulate within neoplastic lesions in several murine models of transplantable cancer to promote angiogenesis. If these findings were confirmed in clinical settings, CD11b⁺CD13⁺ myeloid cells could become a non-malignant target for the development of novel anticancer regimens.