角蛋白与肿瘤

角蛋白属于I型和II型中间纤维,是上皮细胞中间纤维的主要组成蛋白。角蛋白对上皮细胞及组织的稳定性和完整性具有重要的功能,此外,许多角蛋白还参与细胞内的信号转导通路。角蛋白的基因突变会导致一系列的遗传性皮肤病,还能引起肝脏、口腔粘膜、食管、外阴、直肠粘膜的白海绵痣等疾病。最近大量研究发现,角蛋白在人类多种类型肿瘤中也存在特异性表达,角蛋白及其抗体在肿瘤的免疫化学诊断、核转移、精确的分型或分类等方面具有重要的作用,并且还有助于预测肿瘤治疗反应和预后情况。因此,研究角蛋白与肿瘤之间的相互联系,揭示它们的作用机制对肿瘤的诊断和治疗有着重要意义。该文回顾了近年来角蛋白的分子生物学研究概况及临床应用,对各种角蛋白与肿瘤发生、进展、诊断以及预后的关系进行综述,同时对存在的问题及困难作了探讨并对未来的研究进行了展望。

Keratins and Tumors

Type I and II keratins are major components of intermediate filaments in epithelial cells. Keratins have important effects on the stability and integrity of the cellular morphology. Furthermore, they also participate in many intracellular signal transduction pathways. Mutations in genes encoding keratins cause hereditary skin disease, and white sponge nevus in liver, oral mucosa, esophagus, vulva, and rectal as well. Recent studies found that many types of keratins expressed specifically in human tumors, and keratin antibodies could play important roles in tumor diagnosis, classification and prognosis. Therefore, studying the association between the tumor and keratin will help in tumor diagnosis and treatment. This review introduces recent researches in molecular mechanisms and clinical applications of keratins, which may enhance the readers to understand the association between keratins and the progress, diagnosis and prognosis of the tumors.