ECRG4: a new potential target in precision medicine

Abstract

Given the rapid development in precision medicine, tremendous efforts have been devoted to discovering new biomarkers for disease diagnosis and treatment. Esophageal cancer-related gene-4 (ECRG4), which is initially known as a new candidate tumor suppressor gene, is emerging as a sentinel molecule for gauging tissue homeostasis. ECRG4 is unique in its cytokine-like functional pattern and epigenetically-regulated gene expression pattern. The gene can be released from the cell membrane upon activation and detected in liquid biopsy, thus offering considerable potential in precision medicine. This review provides an updated summary on the biology of ECRG4, with emphasis on its important roles in cancer diagnosis and therapy. The future perspectives of ECRG4 as a potential molecular marker in precision medicine are also discussed in detail.

Keywords

ECRG4 / tumor suppressor gene / sentinel molecule / precision medicine / cell senescence / epithelium homeostasis

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Major Program Development Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30600492), the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (No. 2016JM3010), Xiangyang Science and Technology (Intellectual Property) Bureau (2016 file No. 73), the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (No. 2014CFC1154), and the Teachers’ Scientific Ability Cultivation Foundation of Hubei University of Arts and Science (No. 2017KYPY004).

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Xin Qin and Ping Zhang declare that they have no conflict of interest. This manuscript is a review article and does not involve a research protocol that requires approval by the relevant institutional review board or ethics committee.

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