Department of Pathophysiology, Medical College, Nanchang University, 461 Bayi Road, Nanchang 330006, China.
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Tumor Pathogenesis and Molecular Pathology, 461 Bayi Road, Nanchang 330006, China.
Molecules. 2018 Mar 29;23(4):787. doi: 10.3390/molecules23040787.
Despite great improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of neoplasms, metastatic disease is still the leading cause of death in cancer patients, with mortality rates still rising. Given this background, new ways to treat cancer will be important for development of improved cancer control strategies. Cdc42 is a member of the Rho GTPase family and plays an important role in cell-to-cell adhesion, formation of cytoskeletal structures, and cell cycle regulation. It thus influences cellular proliferation, transformation, and homeostasis, as well as the cellular migration and invasion processes underlying tumor formation. Cdc42 acts as a collection point for signal transduction and regulates multiple signaling pathways. Moreover, recent studies show that in most human cancers Cdc42 is abnormally expressed and promoting neoplastic growth and metastasis. Regarding possible new treatments for cancer, miRNA and small molecules targeting Cdc42 and related pathways have been recently found to be effective on cancer. In this review, we analyze the newly recognized regulation mechanisms for Cdc42 and Cdc42-related signal pathways, and particularly new treatments using small molecules and miRNAs to inhibit the abnormal overexpression of Cdc42 that may slow down the metastasis process, improve cancer therapy and lead to novel strategies for development of antineoplastic drugs.
尽管在肿瘤的诊断和治疗方面取得了重大进展，但转移性疾病仍然是癌症患者死亡的主要原因，死亡率仍在上升。鉴于这种背景，寻找新的癌症治疗方法对于制定改进的癌症控制策略将非常重要。Cdc42 是 Rho GTPase 家族的成员，在细胞间黏附、细胞骨架结构的形成和细胞周期调控中发挥重要作用。因此，它影响细胞增殖、转化和动态平衡，以及肿瘤形成所涉及的细胞迁移和侵袭过程。Cdc42 作为信号转导的集合点，调节多种信号通路。此外，最近的研究表明，在大多数人类癌症中，Cdc42 异常表达，促进肿瘤生长和转移。关于癌症的可能新治疗方法，最近发现靶向 Cdc42 和相关途径的 miRNA 和小分子对癌症有效。在这篇综述中，我们分析了新发现的 Cdc42 及其相关信号通路的调节机制，特别是使用小分子和 miRNA 抑制 Cdc42 的异常过表达的新治疗方法，这可能会减缓转移过程，改善癌症治疗，并为开发抗肿瘤药物提供新策略。
