J Biomed Res.  2013 Mar;14(1):1-7.

Potential role(s) of cysteine cathepsins in cancer progression and metastasis

Affiliations
  • 1Laboratory of Veterinary Biochemistry and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, Korea. kchoi@cbu.ac.kr

Abstract

Cancer is the result of damage to the genetic system, i.e., dysfunction of the DNA repair system, resulting in dysregulated expression of various molecules, leading to cancer formation, migration, and invasion. In cancer progression, several proteases play a critical role in metastasis; however, their biological mechanism in cancer metastasis is not clearly understood. Among these proteases, cathepsins are a family of lysosomal proteases found in most animal cells. Cathepsins have an important role in protein turnover of mammalian, and are classified into 15 types based on their structure as serine (cathepsin A and G), aspartic (cathepsin D and E), and cysteine cathepsins (cathepsin B, C, F, H, K, L, O, S, V, X, and W). Cysteine cathepsins appear to accelerate the progression of human and rodent cancers, which can be a biomarker of the potency of malignancy or metastasis in mammalian. Overexpression of cyteine cathepsins causes the activation of angiogenesis promoting factor, whereas their downregulation reduces the angiogenesis of cancer progression. Under physiological conditions, cysteine cathepsins are essential in inflammation, infection, and cancer development. Activity of cysteine proteases, i.e., cathepsin B, is required for cancer progression or metastasis. Elevation of cysteine cathepsin is associated with cancer metastasis, angiogenesis, and immunity. Therefore, in this review, we suggest that cysteine cathepsin may be an anticancer target of strong clinical interest, although the exact mechanism of cathepsins in cancer metastasis is under investigation.

Keyword

cathepsin; cysteine protease; cancer metastasis

MeSH Terms

Animals
Cathepsin B
Cathepsins
Cysteine
Cysteine Proteases
DNA Repair
Down-Regulation
Humans
Inflammation
Neoplasm Metastasis
Peptide Hydrolases
Rodentia
Serine
Cathepsin B
Cathepsins
Cysteine
Cysteine Proteases
Peptide Hydrolases
Serine
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