Background

The semaphorin-plexin system consists of several classes of semaphorin ligands and of several classes of plexin transmembrane receptors that all together mediate cell-cell interactions in many different tissues in mammals under physiological conditions. Beyond that, the semaphorin-plexin system also plays an important role in several pathophysiological processes, such as cancer, inflammatory and immune diseases, bone diseases and microvascular diseases. In this respect, the semaphorin-plexin system has already been extensively studied in order to identify potential molecular targets for therapeutic interventions.