Zhang Maoduo, Zhang Ying Yi, Chen Yongze, Wang Jia, Wang Qiang, Lu Hezhe
State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Nov 30;9:786728. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.786728. eCollection 2021.
The transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) pathway, which is well studied for its ability to inhibit cell proliferation in early stages of tumorigenesis while promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition and invasion in advanced cancer, is considered to act as a double-edged sword in cancer. Multiple inhibitors have been developed to target TGF-β signaling, but results from clinical trials were inconsistent, suggesting that the functions of TGF-β in human cancers are not yet fully explored. Multiple drug resistance is a major challenge in cancer therapy; emerging evidence indicates that TGF-β signaling may be a key factor in cancer resistance to chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Finally, combining anti-TGF-β therapy with other cancer therapy is an attractive venue to be explored for the treatment of therapy-resistant cancer.
转化生长因子β（TGF-β）信号通路在肿瘤发生早期抑制细胞增殖的能力已得到充分研究，而在晚期癌症中它会促进上皮-间质转化和侵袭，因此被认为在癌症中扮演着双刃剑的角色。目前已开发出多种靶向TGF-β信号传导的抑制剂，但临床试验结果并不一致，这表明TGF-β在人类癌症中的功能尚未得到充分探索。多药耐药是癌症治疗中的一项重大挑战；新出现的证据表明，TGF-β信号传导可能是癌症对化疗、靶向治疗和免疫治疗产生耐药性的关键因素。最后，将抗TGF-β治疗与其他癌症治疗方法相结合，是治疗耐药性癌症值得探索的一个有吸引力的途径。
