%A Peter E. ZAGE, Andrew J. BEAN %T Growth factor receptor trafficking as a potential therapeutic target in pediatric cancer %0 Journal Article %D 2012 %J Front. Biol. %J Frontiers in Biology %@ 1674-7984 %R 10.1007/s11515-011-1181-z %P 1-13 %V 7 %N 1 %U {https://journal.hep.com.cn/fib/EN/10.1007/s11515-011-1181-z %8 2012-02-01 %X
Growth factor receptors (GFRs) are often aberrantly expressed in tumor cells, and altered GFR expression and activity contribute to the pathogenesis of many types of cancer. A variety of mechanisms have been identified that result in enhanced GFR expression and activity in cancer cells. Defects in the pathways responsible for GFR internalization and intracellular trafficking are likely to be involved in altered GFR expression in a variety of cancers. The roles of GFR trafficking pathways in the regulation of GFR expression, in the pathogenesis of tumors, and in the response of tumors to treatment have not been fully delineated, but the likely contributions of GFR signaling to the development and progression of various malignancies suggest that therapies that modify GFR trafficking may be effective as anticancer treatments.
The intracellular trafficking of GFRs is regulated by a number of protein complexes and by protein ubiquitination. Many of the proteins required for this trafficking are products of tumor suppressor genes, and the expression and function of the protein machinery utilized for intracellular trafficking is frequently altered in tumor cells, consistent with the likely role of GFR trafficking in tumorigenesis. Many of the proteins involved in GFR trafficking have been identified as potential targets for anticancer treatment, and novel treatments directed against these targets are currently in preclinical development and in clinical trials. Ubiquitin ligases are critical for GFR trafficking and represent potentially important targets for the development of novel therapies.
The genes for the ubiquitin ligases