Biological Sciences Program, Department of Life Sciences, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus.
Cancer Metastasis and Adhesion Laboratory, Basic and Translational Cancer Research Center (BTCRC), European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jul 8;24(14):11253. doi: 10.3390/ijms241411253.
As metastasis is responsible for most cancer-related deaths, understanding the cellular and molecular events that lead to cancer cell migration and invasion will certainly provide insights into novel anti-metastatic therapeutic targets. Fascin-1 is an actin-bundling protein fundamental to all physiological or pathological processes that require cell migration. It is responsible for cross-linking actin microfilaments during the formation of actin-rich cellular structures at the leading edge of migrating cells such as filopodia, lamellipodia and invadopodia. While most epithelial tissues express low levels of Fascin-1, it is dramatically elevated in the majority of cancers and its expression has been associated with more aggressive disease and decreased overall survival. Hence, it has been proposed as a potential anti-cancer target. In the present review, we studied recent literature with regard to Fascin-1 expression in different cancers, its role in altering the mechanical properties of cancer cells, promoting cancer cell migration, invasion and metastasis and the effect of its inhibition, via various pharmacological inhibitors, in eliminating metastasis in vitro and/or in vivo. Recent studies corroborate the notion that Fascin-1 is critically involved in metastasis and prove that it is a valuable anti-metastatic target that is worth investigating further.
由于转移是导致大多数癌症相关死亡的原因，因此了解导致癌细胞迁移和侵袭的细胞和分子事件，必将为新的抗转移治疗靶点提供深入的了解。Fascin-1 是一种肌动蛋白结合蛋白，对所有需要细胞迁移的生理或病理过程都至关重要。它负责在迁移细胞的前缘形成富含肌动蛋白的细胞结构（如丝状伪足、片状伪足和入侵伪足）时交联肌动蛋白微丝。虽然大多数上皮组织表达低水平的 Fascin-1，但在大多数癌症中其水平显著升高，其表达与更具侵袭性的疾病和总体生存率降低相关。因此，它被提议作为一种潜在的抗癌靶点。在本综述中，我们研究了 Fascin-1 在不同癌症中的表达、它在改变癌细胞力学特性、促进癌细胞迁移、侵袭和转移中的作用以及通过各种药理学抑制剂抑制它在体外和/或体内消除转移的作用的最新文献。最近的研究证实了 Fascin-1 与转移密切相关，并证明它是一个有价值的抗转移靶点，值得进一步研究。
