Nachmias Boaz, Ashhab Yaqoub, Ben-Yehuda Dina
Department of Hematology, Hadassah University Hospital, Ein-Karem, P.O.B. 12000, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
Semin Cancer Biol. 2004 Aug;14(4):231-43. doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2004.04.002.
Apoptosis is a crucial biological process that prevents uncontrolled cell proliferation and eliminates harmful cells. Resistance to apoptotic stimuli is a hallmark feature of various cancers. One of the mechanisms through which tumor cells are believed to acquire resistance to apoptosis is by overexpression of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs). IAPs are a group of structurally related proteins that were initially identified in baculoviruses. Mammalian IAPs block apoptosis either by binding and inhibiting caspases or through caspase-independent mechanisms. This family of proteins has become increasingly prominent in the field of cancer biology. To date, overexpression of several IAPs has been detected in various cancers. This paper reviews the recent advances in the research of IAPs. The differential expression and the biological significance of each IAP in various cancer types will be discussed. Finally, we review the most recent advances in the research efforts aimed at using IAPs as potential targets for cancer therapy.
细胞凋亡是一个关键的生物学过程，可防止细胞不受控制地增殖并清除有害细胞。对凋亡刺激的抗性是各种癌症的一个标志性特征。肿瘤细胞被认为获得凋亡抗性的机制之一是通过凋亡抑制蛋白（IAPs）的过表达。IAPs是一组结构相关的蛋白质，最初在杆状病毒中被鉴定出来。哺乳动物IAPs通过结合和抑制半胱天冬酶或通过不依赖半胱天冬酶的机制来阻断细胞凋亡。这一蛋白质家族在癌症生物学领域中变得越来越突出。迄今为止，在各种癌症中已检测到几种IAPs的过表达。本文综述了IAPs研究的最新进展。将讨论每种IAP在各种癌症类型中的差异表达及其生物学意义。最后，我们综述了旨在将IAPs用作癌症治疗潜在靶点的研究工作的最新进展。
