Department of Integrated Biological Science, College of Natural Science, Pusan National University, Pusan 46241, Republic of Korea.
Institute of Systems Biology, College of Natural Science, Pusan National University, Pusan 46241, Republic of Korea.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Apr 26;25(9):4749. doi: 10.3390/ijms25094749.
Cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44), a multi-functional cell surface receptor, has several variants and is ubiquitously expressed in various cells and tissues. CD44 is well known for its function in cell adhesion and is also involved in diverse cellular responses, such as proliferation, migration, differentiation, and activation. To date, CD44 has been extensively studied in the field of cancer biology and has been proposed as a marker for cancer stem cells. Recently, growing evidence suggests that CD44 is also relevant in non-cancer diseases. In liver disease, it has been shown that CD44 expression is significantly elevated and associated with pathogenesis by impacting cellular responses, such as metabolism, proliferation, differentiation, and activation, in different cells. However, the mechanisms underlying CD44's function in liver diseases other than liver cancer are still poorly understood. Hence, to help to expand our knowledge of the role of CD44 in liver disease and highlight the need for further research, this review provides evidence of CD44's effects on liver physiology and its involvement in the pathogenesis of liver disease, excluding cancer. In addition, we discuss the potential role of CD44 as a key regulator of cell physiology.
CD44（细胞分化抗原 44）是一种多功能的细胞表面受体，具有多种变体，广泛表达于各种细胞和组织中。CD44 以其在细胞黏附中的功能而闻名，同时也参与多种细胞反应，如增殖、迁移、分化和激活。迄今为止，CD44 在癌症生物学领域已得到广泛研究，并被提议作为癌症干细胞的标志物。最近，越来越多的证据表明 CD44 也与非癌症疾病相关。在肝脏疾病中，已经表明 CD44 的表达显著升高，并通过影响不同细胞中的代谢、增殖、分化和激活等细胞反应与发病机制相关。然而，除肝癌以外，CD44 在肝脏疾病中的功能的机制仍知之甚少。因此，为了帮助我们扩大对 CD44 在肝脏疾病中的作用的认识，并强调进一步研究的必要性，本综述提供了 CD44 对肝脏生理学的影响及其在肝脏疾病发病机制中的作用的证据，不包括癌症。此外，我们还讨论了 CD44 作为细胞生理学关键调节剂的潜在作用。
