Medical College, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang, 441053, China.
State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Medical Genetics and Developmental Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
Front Med. 2019 Oct;13(5):540-546. doi: 10.1007/s11684-018-0637-9. Epub 2018 Jul 12.
Given the rapid development in precision medicine, tremendous efforts have been devoted to discovering new biomarkers for disease diagnosis and treatment. Esophageal cancer-related gene-4 (ECRG4), which is initially known as a new candidate tumor suppressor gene, is emerging as a sentinel molecule for gauging tissue homeostasis. ECRG4 is unique in its cytokine-like functional pattern and epigenetically-regulated gene expression pattern. The gene can be released from the cell membrane upon activation and detected in liquid biopsy, thus offering considerable potential in precision medicine. This review provides an updated summary on the biology of ECRG4, with emphasis on its important roles in cancer diagnosis and therapy. The future perspectives of ECRG4 as a potential molecular marker in precision medicine are also discussed in detail.
鉴于精准医学的快速发展，人们投入了大量精力来发现用于疾病诊断和治疗的新型生物标志物。食管癌相关基因-4（ECRG4）最初被认为是一种新的候选肿瘤抑制基因，现已成为衡量组织内稳态的哨兵分子。ECRG4 的细胞因子样功能模式和表观遗传调控基因表达模式具有独特性。该基因在被激活时可从细胞膜上释放出来，并可在液体活检中检测到，因此在精准医学方面具有很大的潜力。本综述提供了 ECRG4 生物学的最新总结，重点介绍了其在癌症诊断和治疗中的重要作用。还详细讨论了 ECRG4 作为精准医学中潜在分子标志物的未来前景。
