Department of Pathology, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 9374 Scott Hall, 540 E Canfield, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
Curr Protein Pept Sci. 2010 Sep;11(6):398-408. doi: 10.2174/138920310791824039.
Proteins and small peptides (growth factors and hormones) are key molecules in maintaining cellular homeostasis. To that end, Notch signaling pathway proteins are known to play critical roles in maintaining the balance between cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, and thus it has been suggested that Notch may be responsible for the development and progression of human malignancies. Therefore, the Notch signaling pathway proteins may present novel therapeutic targets, which could have promising therapeutic impact on eradicating human malignancies. This review describes the role of Notch signaling pathway proteins in cancer and how its deregulation is involved in tumor development and progression leading to metastasis and the ultimate demise of patients diagnosed with cancer. Further, we summarize the role of several Notch inhibitors especially "natural agents" that could represent novel therapeutic strategies targeting Notch signaling toward better treatment outcome of patients diagnosed with cancer.
蛋白质和小肽(生长因子和激素)是维持细胞内稳态的关键分子。为此,已知 Notch 信号通路蛋白在维持细胞增殖、分化和凋亡之间的平衡方面发挥着关键作用,因此有人认为 Notch 可能与人类恶性肿瘤的发生和发展有关。因此, Notch 信号通路蛋白可能是新的治疗靶点,这可能对消除人类恶性肿瘤具有潜在的治疗意义。本文综述了 Notch 信号通路蛋白在癌症中的作用,以及其失调如何参与肿瘤的发生和发展,导致转移,并最终导致被诊断患有癌症的患者死亡。此外,我们总结了几种 Notch 抑制剂的作用,特别是“天然药物”,它们可能代表针对 Notch 信号的新型治疗策略,以改善被诊断患有癌症的患者的治疗效果。