Description
Endothelial-Monocyte Activating Polypeptide II (EMAP-II) is a tumor derived cytokine that exerts a wide range of activities on endothelial cells, monocytes and neutrophils. EMAP-II inhibits endothelial cell proliferation, vasculogenesis, neovessel formation, and can induce apoptosis. It is also chemotactic towards neutrophils and monocytes and induces myeloperoxidase activity from neutrophils. Of clinical importance, EMAP-II inhibits angiogenesis of vascular beds and suppresses the growth of primary and secondary tumors without affecting normal tissues. Mature EMAP-II is an 18.3 kDa protein, which is synthesized as the C-terminal portion of a biologically inactive precursor protein containing a propeptide of 146 amino acid residues