Browsing by Subject "Cancer therapy"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Adhesion molecules as targets for cancer therapy
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 1997) Huang, Y.W.; Baluna, R.; Vitetta, E.S.
    Adhesion molecules mediate cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions and are essential for numerous physiological and pathological processes. Recent evidence from many laboratories suggests that adhesion molecules play an important role in tumor progression and may promote tumor growth and organ-specific metastasis. Certain adhesion molecules may also function as tumor suppressors. In this review, we describe current concepts concerning the role of the adhesion molecules in the pathogenesis of cancer and the development of therapeutic approaches which make use of this information. Hence, by preventing tumor cells from interacting with each other or with their microenvironment, tumor growth and metastasis can be suppressed. The feasibility of using anti-adhesion strategies to treat cancer has been demonstrated in many animal models. Thus, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against adhesion molecules, synthetic peptidic and nonpeptidic analogues of the recognition sequences on their receptors, soluble adhesion molecules and antisense oligonucleotides can inhibit tumor growth and gene therapy can restore the functions of altered tumorsuppressive adhesion molecules.
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    Monocarboxylate transporters as targets and mediators in cancer therapy response
    (F. Hernández y Juan F. Madrid. Universidad de Murcia: Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2014) Baltazar, Fátima; Pinheiro, C.; Morais-Santos, F.; Azevedo-Silva, J.; Queirós, O.; Preto, A.; Casal, M.
    Monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) belong to a family of transporters, encoded by the SLC16 gene family, which is presently composed by 14 members, but only MCT1 to 4 have been biochemically characterized. They have important functions in healthy tissues, being involved in the transmembrane transport of lactic acid and other monocarboxylic acids in human cells. One of the recently recognized hallmarks of cancer is altered metabolism, with high rates of glucose consumption and consequent lactate production. To maintain this metabolic phenotype, cancer cells upregulate a series of plasma membrane proteins, including MCTs. MCT1 and MCT4, in particular, play a dual role in the maintenance of the metabolic phenotype of tumour cells. On one hand, they facilitate the efflux of lactate and, on the other hand, they contribute to the preservation of the intracellular pH, by co-transporting a proton. Thus, MCTs are attractive targets in cancer therapy, especially in cancers with a hyper-glycolytic and acid-resistant phenotype. Also recent evidence demonstrates that MCTs are involved in cancer cell uptake of chemotherapeutic agents, including 3-bromopyruvate. In this way, MCTs can act as “Trojan horses”, as their elevated expression in cancer cells can mediate the entry of this chemotherapeutic agent into the cells and selectively kill cancer cells. As a result, MCTs will be mediators of chemotherapeutic response, and their expression can be used as a molecular marker to predict response to chemotherapy.
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    New advances on critical implications of tumorand metastasis-initiating cells in cancer progression, treatment resistance and disease recurrence
    (Murcia: F. Hernández, 2010) Mimeault, M.; Batra, Surinder K.
    Accumulating lines of experimental evidence have revealed that the malignant transformation of multipotent tissue-resident adult stem/progenitor cells into cancer stem/progenitor cells endowed with a high self-renewal capacity and aberrant multilineage differentiation potential may be at origin of the most types of human aggressive and recurrent cancers. Based on new cancer stem/progenitor cell concepts of carcinogenesis, it is suggested that a small subpopulation of highly tumorigenic and migrating cancer stem/progenitor cells, also designated as cancer- and metastasis-initiating cells, can provide critical roles for primary tumor growth, metastases at distant tissues and organs, treatment resistance and disease relapse. Particularly, cancer initiation and progression to locally invasive and metastatic stages is often associated with a persistent activation of distinct developmental signaling pathways in these immature cells during epithelialmesenchymal transition program. The signaling cascades that are often deregulated in cancer stem/progenitor cells include hedgehog, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Wnt/ß-catenin, NOTCH, polycomb gene product BMI-1 and/or stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)/CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4). Importantly, the results from recent investigations have also indicated that different cancer subtypes may harbor distinct subsets and/or number of cancer-initiating cells during cancer progression as well as before or after therapy initiation and disease recurrence. Therefore, the identification of the molecular transforming events that frequently occur in cancer- and metastasis-initiating cells versus their differentiated progenies is of immense interest to develop new targeting approach for improving current therapies against aggressive, metastatic, recurrent and lethal cancers.
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    The role of CD98 heavy chain in cancer development
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2024) Park, Eunsun; Kim, Hyesung; Yoon, Seokho; Jang, Bogun
    The glycoprotein CD98, or CD98 heavy chain (CD98hc), encoded by the SLC3A2 gene, plays a crucial role in cancer development and progression. CD98hc, forming heterodimeric complexes with various light chains, regulates neutral amino acid transport across cell membranes. The intricate interplay between CD98hc, integrins, and amino acid transporters shapes the tumor microenvironment and contributes to tumor growth. Elevated expression of CD98hc in various cancers correlates with poor prognosis, making it a potential prognostic marker. In colorectal cancer, CD98hc emerges as a potential therapeutic target, along with its partner LAT1, and inhibitors like JPH203 exhibit promise in preclinical studies. Targeting CD98hc/LAT1, alone or with conventional therapies, shows promise in inhibiting tumor growth. This review focuses on elucidating the multifaceted roles of CD98hc and its partner LAT1 in cancer, particularly its involvement in amino acid transport, signaling pathways, and its prognostic relevance in cancer.
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    Zinc finger proteins and regulation of the hallmarks of cancer
    (Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2019) Ye, Qin; Liu, Jiayang; Xie, Ke
    Zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) form one of the largest families of transcription factors in human genetics, via their conserved zinc finger motifs. ZFPs function in many biological processes including development, differentiation, metabolism and apoptosis. In addition, recent studies have demonstrated that ZFPs are closely associated with different stages of cancer development. One of the hallmarks of cancer is altered signal transduction cascades and an understanding of the changes in these pathways is essential for targeted cancer therapy. In this review, we discuss examples of ZFPs involved in development and progression of several types of cancer, which can provide new insights into cancer treatment