Podhajcer Osvaldo L, Benedetti Lorena, Girotti Maria Romina, Prada Federico, Salvatierra Edgardo, Llera Andrea S
Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Therapy, Fundacion Instituto Leloir, University of Buenos Aires, National Council for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2008 Sep;27(3):523-37. doi: 10.1007/s10555-008-9135-x.
Tumor growth is essentially the result of an evolving cross-talk between malignant and surrounding stromal cells (fibroblasts, endothelial cells and inflammatory cells). This heterogeneous mass of extracellular matrix and intermingled cells interact through cell-cell and cell-matrix contacts. Malignant cells also secrete soluble proteins that reach neighbor stromal cells, forcing them to provide the soil on which they will grow and metastasize. Different studies including expression array analysis identified the matricellular protein SPARC as a marker of poor prognosis in different cancer types. Further evidence demonstrated that high SPARC levels are often associated with the most aggressive and highly metastatic tumors. Here we describe the most recent evidence that links SPARC with human cancer progression, the controversy regarding its role in certain human cancers and the physiological processes in which SPARC is involved: epithelial-mesenchymal transition, immune surveillance and angiogenesis. Its relevance as a potential target in cancer therapy is also discussed.
肿瘤生长本质上是恶性细胞与周围基质细胞（成纤维细胞、内皮细胞和炎症细胞）之间不断演变的相互作用的结果。这种由细胞外基质和混合细胞组成的异质性团块通过细胞间和细胞与基质的接触相互作用。恶性细胞还分泌可溶性蛋白质，这些蛋白质作用于邻近的基质细胞，迫使它们提供恶性细胞生长和转移的土壤。包括表达阵列分析在内的不同研究确定，基质细胞蛋白SPARC是不同癌症类型中预后不良的标志物。进一步的证据表明，高SPARC水平通常与最具侵袭性和高转移性的肿瘤相关。在此，我们描述了将SPARC与人类癌症进展联系起来的最新证据、关于其在某些人类癌症中的作用的争议以及SPARC所涉及的生理过程：上皮-间质转化、免疫监视和血管生成。还讨论了其作为癌症治疗潜在靶点的相关性。
