EphA2、E-钙黏素在肿瘤中的研究

Studies on EphA2 and E-cadherin in Cancer

Eph受体激酶是受体酪氨酸激酶(RTKs)家族中最大的一个亚族。EphA2是Eph受体中的一员,可以调节细胞生长、迁移和血管生成。EphA2受体广泛过表达于上皮来源的肿瘤细胞,导致正常细胞恶性转化,增强肿瘤细胞的侵袭性、浸润性和转移性。E-cadherin是一种常见的上皮黏附分子,可以介导细胞之间的黏附,细胞向正常及肿瘤组织的移动并定位,同时可以影响其它蛋白的定位和转化,进一步促进肿瘤的恶型性。研究证明:许多上皮性肿瘤中,包括食管癌、宫颈癌、乳腺癌、结肠癌等都发现EphA2和E-cadherin均有异常表达,且与肿瘤的恶性程度和疾病的预后有密切的关系。本文从EphA2、E-cadherin的结构、功能、相互关系以及在肿瘤中的研究加以综述。

Eph receptors are a unique family of receptor tyrosine kinases （RTKs）. EphA2 （Eph tyrosine kinases A2） is a family member of Eph receptors that plays critical role in embryonic patterning, neuronal targeting, and vascular development. EphA2 is frequently over-expressed in a variety of cancers and minor cell lines, which leads maligment progression of normal cells, promotes the invasive phenotype of carcinoma. E-cadherin is a usual adhesion molecule in epithelial and endothelial cells, and mediate intercellular adhesion, the transformation, migration and location of endothelial cells. E-cadherin also affects the location and transformation of other proteins. Recent data shows that the expression of EphA2 and E-cadherin is abnormal in endothelial turmor cells, including esophageal, cervical, breast and colon cancers, and understood to play important roles in evaluating malignancy and prognosis of cancer. This review focuses on the structure, function of EphA2 and E-cadherin, and their interaction in tumors.