Preclinical Models and New Therapeutic Agents Unit, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Via Chianesi 53 (00144), Rome, Italy.
J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2021 Apr 15;40(1):131. doi: 10.1186/s13046-021-01929-3.
Hypoxia, a condition of oxygen deprivation, is considered a hallmark of tumor microenvironment regulating several pathways and promoting cancer progression and resistance to therapy. Semaphorins, a family of about 20 secreted, transmembrane and GPI-linked glycoproteins, and their cognate receptors (plexins and neuropilins) play a pivotal role in the crosstalk between cancer and stromal cells present in the tumor microenvironment. Many studies reported that some semaphorins are involved in the development of a permissive tumor niche, guiding cell-cell communication and, consequently, the development and progression, as well as the response to therapy, of different cancer histotypes, including melanoma.In this review we will summarize the state of art of semaphorins regulation by hypoxic condition in cancer with different origin. We will also describe evidence about the ability of semaphorins to affect the expression and activity of transcription factors activated by hypoxia, such as hypoxia-inducible factor-1. Finally, we will focus our attention on findings reporting the role of semaphorins in melanocytes transformation, melanoma progression and response to therapy. Further studies are necessary to understand the mechanisms through which semaphorins induce their effect and to shed light on the possibility to use semaphorins or their cognate receptors as prognostic markers and/or therapeutic targets in melanoma or other malignancies.
缺氧是一种氧气剥夺的状态,被认为是肿瘤微环境调节多种途径的标志,促进癌症的进展和对治疗的抵抗。信号素是一个大约由 20 种分泌的、跨膜的和 GPI 连接的糖蛋白组成的家族,其同源受体(丛蛋白和神经纤毛蛋白)在肿瘤微环境中癌细胞与基质细胞之间的串扰中发挥着关键作用。许多研究表明,一些信号素参与了允许肿瘤微环境形成的过程,指导细胞-细胞通讯,从而影响不同癌症组织类型的发展和进展,以及对治疗的反应,包括黑色素瘤。在这篇综述中,我们将总结不同起源的癌症中缺氧条件对信号素调节的最新研究进展。我们还将描述信号素影响缺氧激活的转录因子(如缺氧诱导因子-1)表达和活性的证据。最后,我们将关注报告信号素在黑素细胞转化、黑色素瘤进展和对治疗反应中的作用的研究结果。为了深入了解信号素诱导其作用的机制,并阐明在黑色素瘤或其他恶性肿瘤中使用信号素或其同源受体作为预后标志物和/或治疗靶点的可能性,还需要进一步的研究。