Rho GTP酶在肿瘤发生发展中的作用

Roles of Rho GTPases in tumorigenesis

Rho GTP酶属于Ras超家族的成员,在细胞中具有控制细胞形态、调控细胞增殖、黏附、迁移和膜运输等许多重要作用。近几年的研究表明,许多肿瘤(如乳腺癌、胃癌、肺癌、前列腺癌等)组织中的Rho GTP酶表达异常,此外,Rho GTP酶与恶性肿瘤的生长、转化、转移和凋亡也密切相关。对Rho GTP酶的研究不仅有利于深入了解肿瘤的发病机制,而且有利于开发抗肿瘤的靶向药物。

The Rho family of small GTPase is a member of the Ras superfamily. Rho GTPases are involved in many aspects of cell biology including proliferation, morphology, adhesion, migration, and membrane trafficking. In recent years, over-expression of some members of the Rho family of GTPases in many human tumors such as breast cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer suggests that these proteins are involved in cancer onset, transformation, metastasis and apoptosis. In this review, we summarize the roles of Rho GTPase proteins in carcinogenesis.