Multifunctional enzymes in cancer

MM Mohamed, BF Sloane - Nature Reviews Cancer, 2006 - nature.com
Nature Reviews Cancer, 2006nature.com
Cysteine cathepsins are highly upregulated in a wide variety of cancers by mechanisms
ranging from gene amplification to post-transcriptional modification. Their localization within
intracellular lysosomes often changes during neoplastic progression, resulting in secretion
of both inactive and active forms and association with binding partners on the tumour cell
surface. Secreted, cell-surface and intracellular cysteine cathepsins function in proteolytic
pathways that increase neoplastic progression. Direct proof for causal roles in tumour …
Abstract
Cysteine cathepsins are highly upregulated in a wide variety of cancers by mechanisms ranging from gene amplification to post-transcriptional modification. Their localization within intracellular lysosomes often changes during neoplastic progression, resulting in secretion of both inactive and active forms and association with binding partners on the tumour cell surface. Secreted, cell-surface and intracellular cysteine cathepsins function in proteolytic pathways that increase neoplastic progression. Direct proof for causal roles in tumour growth, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis has been shown by downregulating or ablating the expression of individual cysteine cathepsins in tumour cells and in transgenic mouse models of human cancer.
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