三叶因子家族在胃癌中的研究进展

Research Progress in the Trefoil Factor Family in Gastric Cancer

三叶因子家族(TFF)是一类具有三叶因子结构域的小的分泌蛋白,因为它们具有较高的氨基酸序列同一性和二硫化物桥的数量和定位。二硫化物键的特定模式形成了典型的三叶形状,称为三叶结构域。三叶因子家族具有耐酶、耐热和耐酸等特性,研究表明,TFFs与多种肿瘤之间存在密切关联,近年来的一些研究正在逐步揭示这一点。TFFs的表达在多种恶性肿瘤中均有上调,包括胃癌、结肠癌、肝细胞癌、乳腺癌、前列腺癌等。此外,这些肿瘤组织或患者血清中的TFFs水平与恶性程度和预后密切相关。TFFs通过增强细胞增殖、侵袭、转移和血管生成以及抑制细胞凋亡来促进肿瘤的发生和转移。但主要在胃肠道中的研究较多,以下就三叶因子的蛋白质结构、组织表达和分布等方面进行综述。为今后更好地了解该肽家族及其在胃癌中的诊断及治疗效果提供指导。The Trefoil Factor Family (TFF) is a class of small secreted proteins with trefoil factor domains because of their high amino acid sequence identity and number and localization of disulfide bridges. The specific pattern of disulphide bonds forms the typical trefoil shape, called the trefoil domain. The trefoil factor family is characterized by enzyme, heat and acid resistance, which has shown a close association between TFFs and multiple tumors, and some recent studies are revealing this step by step. The expression levels of TFFs are significantly increased in several types of malignant tumors, such as gastric cancer, colon cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, and prostate cancer, among others. Additionally, the concentration of TFFs found in tumor tissues or patient serum correlates closely with the severity of malignancy and overall prognosis. TFFs facilitate tumor development and spread by promoting cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis, as well as inhibiting apoptosis. However, there are many studies mainly in the gastrointestinal tract. The protein structure, tissue expression and distribution of trefoil factor are reviewed below. It provides guidance for a better understanding of this peptide family and its diagnosis and treatment effect in gastric cancer in the future.