类泛素蛋白与肝癌

Ubiquitin-like proteins and hepatocellular carcinoma

类泛素蛋白是一类与泛素有类似空间结构及酶修饰系统的蛋白质,它们在调节蛋白质功能中发挥着重要作用。类泛素蛋白主要通过对底物蛋白进行类泛素化修饰而发挥核质转运、转录调节、稳定蛋白质、应激反应以及细胞周期调控等多种生物学功能。近年来有大量的研究表明类泛素蛋白功能失调与肝癌的发生、增殖、凋亡以及血管新生等过程密切相关;并且在抗肿瘤药物的研究中也发现,通过调控类泛素化修饰过程可以改变化疗药物的抗肿瘤作用,进而影响肝癌的化疗敏感性,这表明类泛素蛋白可能成为一个新的肿瘤防治靶点。探究类泛素蛋白在肝癌发生、发展中的作用机制对诊断和治疗肝癌有着重要作用。

Ubiquitin-like proteins are structurally similar to ubiquitin. These proteins are processed, activated, conjugated, and released from conjugates by enzymatic steps that are similar to the corresponding mechanisms for ubiquitin. Ubiquitin-like proteins regulate a wide array of cellular processes through modification processes, such as nuclear-cytosolic transport, transcriptional regulation, protein stability, response to stress, and progression through the cell cycle. A large number of recent studies have found dysfunctional ubiquitin-like proteins in hepatocellular carcinoma. These proteins are important in tumorigenesis, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. Anticancer drug studies revealed that regulating protein modification by using ubiquitin-like proteins may alter the anti-tu-mor effects of chemotherapy and thus influence the chemosensitivity of hepatocellular carcinoma. Results indicate that ubiquitin-like proteins may become a new target for cancer therapy. The mechanism of ubiquitin-like proteins in tumorigenesis and hepatocellular car-cinoma progression is of great significance in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.