α—catenin在肿瘤中的多种角色

Multiple Roles of α-Catenin in Cancer

α-连环蛋白（α-catenin）可将钙粘素／B连环蛋白（cadherin／β-catenin）复合体连接于肌动蛋白丝（actinfilament，F-actin），为细胞表面黏附分子与细胞骨架提供了稳固的机械连接。近年，人们对α—catenin的研究发现，其作用不仅仅是稳固cadherin／catenin的结构、参与细胞黏附，还在肿瘤细胞侵袭、迁移中发挥着重要作用。此外，α-catenin还可能参与cadherin／catenin与Ras／MAPK，NF—KB和Wnt等通路之间的串话，涉及了细胞的膜动态、增殖和凋亡的调节。

α-catenin links the cadherin/β-catenin complex to F-actin, which provides a stable mechanical linkage between the extracellular contact and the cytoskeleton. Recently, it has been found that α-catenin is not only involved in maintaining the structure of cadherin/catenin complex and cell-cell adhesion, but also plays a crucial role in tumor cell invasion and migration. In addi- tion, α-catenin may also be related to the crosstalk between cadherin/catenin complex and Ras/ MAPK, NF-KB and Wnt signal pathways, and involved in tumor cell membrane dynamics, prolif- eration and apoptosis.