肝激酶B1基因在胰腺癌中的作用及研究进展

Update on the roles of liver kinase B1 in pancreatic cancer

Peutz-Jeghers综合征相关基因丝氨酸/苏氨酸激酶11(serine/threonine kinase 11,STK11),也被称为肝激酶B1(liver kinase B1,LKB1)编码一种丝氨酸/苏氨酸激酶,其下游信号通路包含14种腺苷酸活化蛋白激酶(AMPactivated protein kinase,AMPK)相关性激酶,参与细胞能量调节、细胞极性调节和细胞凋亡等多种生理、病理生理学过程.目前主流观点认为LKB1是一种重要的肿瘤抑制基因,其功能失活与包含胰腺癌在内的多种肿瘤形成、发展有关.胰腺癌是预后较差的一种恶性肿瘤,全面了解其分子生物学知识对诊断治疗都尤为重要.本文就LKB1结构、分布、功能及其与胰腺癌之间关系作一综述,并指出其在某些情况下可能具有的肿瘤保护作用.

Germline mutations of the liver kinase B1（STK11/LKB1） gene which encodes a serine/threonine kinase is responsible for Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.There are 14 AMP-activated protein kinase（AMPK）-related kinases in pathways downstream of LKB1,which are involved in many physiological and pathological processessuch as regulation of energy metabolism,cell polarity and apoptosis in cells.LKB1 gene mutation has been investigated extensively in a variety of cancers,including pancreatic cancer.Pancreatic cancer is commonly recognized as a disease with extremely poor prognosis.Therefore,a full understanding of its molecular pathology is critical.This review aims to elucidate the structure,distribution,and function of LKB1,and the relationship with pancreatic cancer.In addition,we also point out that in some scenarios,LKB1 may play a role as a tumor protector.