PTEN, a Barrier for Proliferation and Metastasis of Gastric Cancer Cells: From Molecular Pathways to Targeting and Regulation
Milad Ashrafizadeh,
Masoud Najafi,
Hui Li Ang,
Ebrahim Rahmani Moghadam,
Mahmood Khaksary Mahabady,
Amirhossein Zabolian,
Leila Jafaripour,
Atefe Kazemzade Bejandi,
Kiavash Hushmandi,
Hossein Saleki,
Ali Zarrabi,
Alan Prem Kumar
Affiliations
Milad Ashrafizadeh
Department of Basic Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz 5166616471, Iran
Masoud Najafi
Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Department, School of Paramedical Sciences, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6715847141, Iran
Hui Li Ang
Cancer Science Institute of Singapore and Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore
Ebrahim Rahmani Moghadam
Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 7134814336, Iran
Mahmood Khaksary Mahabady
Anatomical Sciences Research Center, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan 8715988141, Iran
Amirhossein Zabolian
Young Researchers and Elite Club, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran 1916893813, Iran
Leila Jafaripour
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Dezful 3419759811, Iran
Atefe Kazemzade Bejandi
Young Researchers and Elite Club, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran 1916893813, Iran
Kiavash Hushmandi
Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Division of Epidemiology & Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran 1417414418, Iran
Hossein Saleki
Young Researchers and Elite Club, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran 1916893813, Iran
Ali Zarrabi
Sabanci University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM), Tuzla 34956, Istanbul, Turkey
Alan Prem Kumar
Cancer Science Institute of Singapore and Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore
Cancer is one of the life-threatening disorders that, in spite of excellent advances in medicine and technology, there is no effective cure for. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are extensively applied in cancer therapy, but their efficacy in eradication of cancer cells, suppressing metastasis, and improving overall survival of patients is low. This is due to uncontrolled proliferation of cancer cells and their high migratory ability. Finding molecular pathways involved in malignant behavior of cancer cells can pave the road to effective cancer therapy. In the present review, we focus on phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) signaling as a tumor-suppressor molecular pathway in gastric cancer (GC). PTEN inhibits the PI3K/Akt pathway from interfering with the migration and growth of GC cells. Its activation leads to better survival of patients with GC. Different upstream mediators of PTEN in GC have been identified that can regulate PTEN in suppressing growth and invasion of GC cells, such as microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs. It seems that antitumor agents enhance the expression of PTEN in overcoming GC. This review focuses on aforementioned topics to provide a new insight into involvement of PTEN and its downstream and upstream mediators in GC. This will direct further studies for evaluation of novel signaling networks and their targeting for suppressing GC progression.
