视黄酸代谢与常见消化道肿瘤关系的研究进展

The development of retinoic acid metabolism and common digestive tract tumors

视黄酸是维生素A最重要的代谢产物,在调控细胞分化、生长,调节免疫功能,维持上皮细胞完整性等生理过程中起着至关重要的作用。其生理功能的发挥是通过与其特异性受体结合,调节靶细胞目的基因转录,进而激活下游信号通路来完成。而机体视黄酸浓度主要由视黄醇的有效性、相关转运因子、视黄酸合成酶和视黄酸分解酶来决定。在我国,消化道肿瘤是一种高发病率、高死亡率的疾病,常见的如口咽癌、食管癌、胃癌和结直肠癌,这些疾病严重威胁人类身体健康,降低人们生活质量。近年来,有研究显示,消化道肿瘤组织中存在视黄酸代谢酶及因子表达的异常,并且一些消化道肿瘤的危险因素,如槟榔、幽门螺杆菌、高脂饮食等会影响视黄酸合成酶、视黄酸分解酶及其相关因子的表达和功能,进而影响视黄酸调控的下游信号通路,最终影响肿瘤的发生、发展。本文主要就视黄酸的代谢及其与常见消化道肿瘤之间关系的研究进展做一综述,为消化道肿瘤的分子机制研究及营养预防提供理论依据。

Retinoic acid(RA)is the most important metabolite of vitamin A,which plays crucial roles in cell differentiation,growth as well as maintaining the functions of immune and epithelial cells.All of these roles were achieved by binding to its specific receptors,then regulating the transcription of target genes,finally activating the downstream signal pathways.The homeostasis of RA concentration is maintained by vivo microenvironment,including the availability of retinol,transport factors and enzymes of RA metabolism.In China,digestive tract tumor,such as oropharyngeal cancer,esophageal cancer,gastric cancer and colorectal cancer,is a disease with high morbidity and mortality,which threatens to human health and reduces the quality of life.Recently,it was reported that aberrant expressions of RA metabolism enzymes and related factors exist in digestive tract tumor tissues.Several risk factors of digestive tract tumor,such as betel nut,Helicobacter Pylori and high fat diet,affected the expression and function of RA metabolism enzymes and related factors,which further influenced the downstream signal pathway regulated by RA and finally affected the occurrence and progress of digestive tract tumor.This review showed the research progress about the metabolism of RA and the association between the metabolism of RA and some common digestive tract cancers.It provides theoretical basis for the molecular mechanism research and nutrition prevention of digestive tract cancer.