Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, People's Republic of China.
Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xianyang Central Hospital, Xianyang, 712000, Shaanxi, China.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2024 Feb 9;81(1):79. doi: 10.1007/s00018-023-05099-7.
Metastasis accounts for 90% of cancer-related deaths among the patients. The transformation of epithelial cells into mesenchymal cells with molecular alterations can occur during epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The EMT mechanism accelerates the cancer metastasis and drug resistance ability in human cancers. Among the different regulators of EMT, Wnt/β-catenin axis has been emerged as a versatile modulator. Wnt is in active form in physiological condition due to the function of GSK-3β that destructs β-catenin, while ligand-receptor interaction impairs GSK-3β function to increase β-catenin stability and promote its nuclear transfer. Regarding the oncogenic function of Wnt/β-catenin, its upregulation occurs in human cancers and it can accelerate EMT-mediated metastasis and drug resistance. The stimulation of Wnt by binding Wnt ligands into Frizzled receptors can enhance β-catenin accumulation in cytoplasm that stimulates EMT and related genes upon nuclear translocation. Wnt/β-catenin/EMT axis has been implicated in augmenting metastasis of both solid and hematological tumors. The Wnt/EMT-mediated cancer metastasis promotes the malignant behavior of tumor cells, causing therapy resistance. The Wnt/β-catenin/EMT axis can be modulated by upstream mediators in which non-coding RNAs are main regulators. Moreover, pharmacological intervention, mainly using phytochemicals, suppresses Wnt/EMT axis in metastasis suppression.
转移是导致癌症患者 90%相关死亡的原因。上皮细胞向具有分子改变的间充质细胞的转化可以在上皮间质转化 (EMT) 期间发生。EMT 机制加速了人类癌症的转移和耐药能力。在 EMT 的不同调节因子中,Wnt/β-catenin 轴已成为一种多功能调节剂。在生理条件下,Wnt 处于活跃状态,因为 GSK-3β 的功能会破坏β-catenin,而配体-受体相互作用会损害 GSK-3β 的功能,增加β-catenin 的稳定性并促进其核转移。关于 Wnt/β-catenin 的致癌功能,其在人类癌症中上调,并能加速 EMT 介导的转移和耐药性。Wnt 通过与 Frizzled 受体结合配体刺激 Wnt,可以增强β-catenin 在细胞质中的积累,刺激 EMT 及其相关基因的核转位。Wnt/β-catenin/EMT 轴与实体瘤和血液系统肿瘤转移的增强有关。Wnt/EMT 介导的癌症转移促进了肿瘤细胞的恶性行为,导致治疗耐药性。Wnt/β-catenin/EMT 轴可以通过上游调节剂进行调节,其中非编码 RNA 是主要调节剂。此外,药理学干预,主要使用植物化学物质,抑制 EMT 轴在转移抑制中的作用。