scholarly journals The Role of Actin Dynamics and Actin-Binding Proteins Expression in Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Its Association with Cancer Progression and Evaluation of Possible Therapeutic Targets

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Izdebska ◽  
Wioletta Zielińska ◽  
Dariusz Grzanka ◽  
Maciej Gagat

Metastasis causes death of 90% of cancer patients, so it is the most significant issue associated with cancer disease. Thus, it is no surprise that many researchers are trying to develop drugs targeting or preventing them. The secondary tumour site formation is closely related to phenomena like epithelial-to-mesenchymal and its reverse, mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition. The change of the cells’ phenotype to mesenchymal involves the acquisition of migratory potential. Cancer cells movement is possible due to the development of invasive structures like invadopodia, lamellipodia, and filopodia. These changes are dependent on the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. In turn, the polymerization and depolymerization of actin are controlled by actin-binding proteins. In many tumour cells, the actin and actin-associated proteins are accumulated in the cell nucleus, suggesting that it may also affect the progression of cancer by regulating gene expression. Once the cancer cell reaches a new habitat it again acquires epithelial features and thus proliferative activity. Targeting of epithelial-to-mesenchymal or/and mesenchymal-to-epithelial transitions through regulation of their main components expression may be a potential solution to the problem of metastasis. This work focuses on the role of these processes in tumour progression and the assessment of therapeutic potential of agents targeting them.

1985 ◽  
pp. 215-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor E. Koteliansky ◽  
Vladimir P. Shirinsky ◽  
Gennady N. Gneushev ◽  
Michail A. Chernousov

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Joy Beckley ◽  
Morgan Campbell Hunter ◽  
Sarah Naulikha Kituyi ◽  
Ianthe Wingate ◽  
Abantika Chakraborty ◽  
...  

Cell migration plays a vital role in both health and disease. It is driven by reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton, which is regulated by actin-binding proteins cofilin and profilin. Stress-inducible phosphoprotein 1 (STIP1) is a well-described co-chaperone of the Hsp90 chaperone system, and our findings identify a potential regulatory role of STIP1 in actin dynamics. We show that STIP1 can be isolated in complex with actin and Hsp90 from HEK293T cells and directly interacts with actin in vitro via the C-terminal TPR2AB-DP2 domain of STIP1, potentially due to a region spanning two putative actin-binding motifs. We found that STIP1 could stimulate the in vitro ATPase activity of actin, suggesting a potential role in the modulation of F-actin formation. Interestingly, while STIP1 depletion in HEK293T cells had no major effect on total actin levels, it led to increased nuclear accumulation of actin, disorganization of F-actin structures, and an increase and decrease in cofilin and profilin levels, respectively. This study suggests that STIP1 regulates the cytoskeleton by interacting with actin, or via regulating the ratio of proteins known to affect actin dynamics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (17) ◽  
pp. 4156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glatzel-Plucińska ◽  
Piotrowska ◽  
Dzięgiel ◽  
Podhorska-Okołów

Carcinogenesis is a long-drawn, multistep process, in which metastatic spread is an unequivocal hallmark of a poor prognosis. The progression and dissemination of epithelial cancers is commonly thought to rely on the epidermal-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. During EMT, epithelial cells lose their junctions and apical-basal polarity, and they acquire a mesenchymal phenotype with its migratory and invasive capabilities. One of the proteins involved in cancer progression and EMT may be SATB1 (Special AT-Rich Binding Protein 1)—a chromatin organiser and a global transcriptional regulator. SATB1 organizes chromatin into spatial loops, providing a “docking site” necessary for the binding of further transcription factors and chromatin modifying enzymes. SATB1 has the ability to regulate whole sets of genes, even those located on distant chromosomes. SATB1 was found to be overexpressed in numerous malignancies, including lymphomas, breast, colorectal, prostate, liver, bladder and ovarian cancers. In the solid tumours, an elevated SATB1 level was observed to be associated with an aggressive phenotype, presence of lymph node, distant metastases, and a poor prognosis. In this review, we briefly describe the prognostic significance of SATB1 expression in most common human cancers, and analyse its impact on EMT and metastasis.


1991 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 1016-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Weeds ◽  
J. Gooch ◽  
M. Hawkins ◽  
B. Pope ◽  
M. Way

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (16) ◽  
pp. 2519-2522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pekka Lappalainen

The actin cytoskeleton supports a vast number of cellular processes in nonmuscle cells. It is well established that the organization and dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton are controlled by a large array of actin-binding proteins. However, it was only 40 years ago that the first nonmuscle actin-binding protein, filamin, was identified and characterized. Filamin was shown to bind and cross-link actin filaments into higher-order structures and contribute to phagocytosis in macrophages. Subsequently many other nonmuscle actin-binding proteins were identified and characterized. These proteins regulate almost all steps of the actin filament assembly and disassembly cycles, as well as the arrangement of actin filaments into diverse three-dimensional structures. Although the individual biochemical activities of most actin-regulatory proteins are relatively well understood, knowledge of how these proteins function together in a common cytoplasm to control actin dynamics and architecture is only beginning to emerge. Furthermore, understanding how signaling pathways and mechanical cues control the activities of various actin-binding proteins in different cellular, developmental, and pathological processes will keep researchers busy for decades.


2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (01) ◽  
pp. 20-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander García-Ponce ◽  
Alí Francisco Citalán-Madrid ◽  
Martha Velázquez-Avila ◽  
Hilda Vargas-Robles ◽  
Michael Schnoor

SummaryThe endothelial barrier of the vasculature is of utmost importance for separating the blood stream from underlying tissues. This barrier is formed by tight and adherens junctions (TJ and AJ) that form intercellular endothelial contacts. TJ and AJ are integral membrane structures that are connected to the actin cytoskeleton via various adaptor molecules. Consequently, the actin cytoskeleton plays a crucial role in regulating the stability of endothelial cell contacts and vascular permeability. While a circumferential cortical actin ring stabilises junctions, the formation of contractile stress fibres, e. g. under inflammatory conditions, can contribute to junction destabilisation. However, the role of actin-binding proteins (ABP) in the control of vascular permeability has long been underestimated. Naturally, ABP regulate permeability via regulation of actin remodelling but some actin-binding molecules can also act independently of actin and control vascular permeability via various signalling mechanisms such as activation of small GTPases. Several studies have recently been published highlighting the importance of actin-binding molecules such as cortactin, ezrin/ radixin/moesin, Arp2/3, VASP or WASP for the control of vascular permeability by various mechanisms. These proteins have been described to regulate vascular permeability under various pathophysiological conditions and are thus of clinical relevance as targets for the development of treatment strategies for disorders that are characterised by vascular hyperpermeability such as sepsis. This review highlights recent advances in determining the role of ABP in the control of endothelial cell contacts and vascular permeability.


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