Department of Radiation Oncology and Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Nat Rev Cancer. 2011 May;11(5):317-23. doi: 10.1038/nrc3051.
Adherens junctions, which are intercellular adhesive complexes that are crucial for maintaining epithelial homeostasis, are downregulated in many cancers to promote tumour progression. However, the role of desmosomes - adhesion complexes that are related to adherens junctions - in carcinogenesis has remained elusive. Recent studies using mouse genetic approaches have uncovered a role for desmosomes in tumour suppression, demonstrating that desmosome downregulation occurs before that of adherens junctions to drive tumour development and early invasion, suggesting a two-step model of adhesion dysfunction in cancer progression.
黏着连接，即细胞间的黏附复合物，对于维持上皮组织稳态至关重要，在许多癌症中下调以促进肿瘤进展。然而，桥粒——与黏着连接相关的黏附复合物——在肿瘤发生中的作用仍然难以捉摸。最近使用小鼠遗传方法的研究揭示了桥粒在肿瘤抑制中的作用，表明桥粒下调先于黏着连接，以驱动肿瘤发展和早期浸润，这表明在癌症进展中黏附功能障碍存在两步模型。
