Pukkanasut Piyasuda, Jaskula-Sztul Renata, Gomora Juan Carlos, Velu Sadanandan E
Department of Chemistry, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States.
Department of Surgery, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States.
Front Pharmacol. 2024 Jul 9;15:1416705. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1416705. eCollection 2024.
This review focuses on the expression and function of voltage-gated sodium channel subtype Na1.7 in various cancers and explores its impact on the metastasis driving cell functions such as proliferation, migration, and invasiveness. An overview of its structural characteristics, drug binding sites, inhibitors and their likely mechanisms of action are presented. Despite the lack of clarity on the precise mechanism by which Na1.7 contributes to cancer progression and metastasis; many studies have suggested a connection between Na1.7 and proteins involved in multiple signaling pathways such as PKA and EGF/EGFR-ERK1/2. Moreover, the functional activity of Na1.7 appears to elevate the expression levels of MACC1 and NHE-1, which are controlled by p38 MAPK activity, HGF/c-MET signaling and c-Jun activity. This cascade potentially enhances the secretion of extracellular matrix proteases, such as MMPs which play critical roles in cell migration and invasion activities. Furthermore, the Na1.7 activity may indirectly upregulate Rho GTPases Rac activity, which is critical for cytoskeleton reorganization, cell adhesion, and actin polymerization. The relationship between Na1.7 and cancer progression has prompted researchers to investigate the therapeutic potential of targeting Na1.7 using inhibitors. The positive outcome of such studies resulted in the discovery of several inhibitors with the ability to reduce cancer cell migration, invasion, and tumor growth underscoring the significance of Na1.7 as a promising pharmacological target for attenuating cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. The research findings summarized in this review suggest that the regulation of Na1.7 expression and function by small molecules and/or by genetic engineering is a viable approach to discover novel therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of metastasis of cancers with elevated Na1.7 expression.
本综述聚焦于电压门控钠通道亚型Na1.7在各种癌症中的表达和功能,并探讨其对转移驱动细胞功能(如增殖、迁移和侵袭)的影响。文中还概述了其结构特征、药物结合位点、抑制剂及其可能的作用机制。尽管Na1.7促进癌症进展和转移的确切机制尚不清楚,但许多研究表明Na1.7与参与多种信号通路(如PKA和EGF/EGFR-ERK1/2)的蛋白质之间存在联系。此外,Na1.7的功能活性似乎会提高MACC1和NHE-1的表达水平,这两者受p38 MAPK活性、HGF/c-MET信号和c-Jun活性的控制。这一级联反应可能会增强细胞外基质蛋白酶(如MMPs)的分泌,而MMPs在细胞迁移和侵袭活动中起关键作用。此外,Na1.7的活性可能间接上调Rho GTPases Rac的活性,这对细胞骨架重组、细胞黏附和肌动蛋白聚合至关重要。Na1.7与癌症进展之间的关系促使研究人员研究使用抑制剂靶向Na1.7的治疗潜力。此类研究的积极结果导致发现了几种能够减少癌细胞迁移、侵袭和肿瘤生长的抑制剂,突出了Na1.7作为减弱癌细胞增殖和转移的有前景的药理学靶点的重要性。本综述总结的研究结果表明,通过小分子和/或基因工程调节Na1.7的表达和功能是发现预防和治疗Na1.7表达升高的癌症转移的新疗法的可行方法。