Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, WTI 320E, 1824 6th Ave South, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.
O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2019 Nov;76(22):4511-4524. doi: 10.1007/s00018-019-03231-0. Epub 2019 Jul 23.
The nucleolus is a sub-nuclear body known primarily for its role in ribosome biogenesis. Increased number and/or size of nucleoli have historically been used by pathologists as a prognostic indicator of cancerous lesions. This increase in nucleolar number and/or size is classically attributed to the increased need for protein synthesis in cancer cells. However, evidences suggest that the nucleolus plays critical roles in many cellular functions in both normal cell biology and disease pathologies, including cancer. As new functions of the nucleolus are elucidated, there is mounting evidence to support the role of the nucleolus in regulating additional cellular functions, particularly response to cellular stressors, maintenance of genome stability, and DNA damage repair, as well as the regulation of gene expression and biogenesis of several ribonucleoproteins. This review highlights the central role of the nucleolus in carcinogenesis and cancer progression and discusses how cancer cells may become "addicted" to nucleolar functions.
核仁是一种亚核结构，主要因其在核糖体生物发生中的作用而闻名。核仁数量和/或大小的增加在历史上一直被病理学家用作癌症病变的预后指标。核仁数量和/或大小的这种增加通常归因于癌细胞中蛋白质合成的需求增加。然而，有证据表明，核仁在正常细胞生物学和疾病病理学中的许多细胞功能中发挥着关键作用，包括癌症。随着核仁新功能的阐明，越来越多的证据支持核仁在调节其他细胞功能中的作用，特别是对细胞应激源的反应、基因组稳定性的维持、DNA 损伤修复以及基因表达的调控和几种核糖核蛋白的生物发生。这篇综述强调了核仁在致癌作用和癌症进展中的核心作用，并讨论了癌细胞如何可能对核仁功能“上瘾”。
