The Emerging Role of Tgf-β Superfamily Co-Receptors in Cancer

Carmelo Bernabeu , Jose M. Lopez-Novoa , Miguel Quintanilla

The transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling pathway plays a key role in different physiological processes such as development, cellular proliferation, extracellular matrix synthesis, angiogenesis or immune responses and its deregulation may result in tumor development. The TGF-β co-receptors endoglin and betaglycan are emerging as modulators of the TGF-β response with important roles in cancer. Endoglin is highly expressed in the tumor-associated vascular endothelium with prognostic significance in selected neoplasias and with potential to be a prime vascular target for antiangiogenic cancer therapy. On the other hand the expression of endoglin and betaglycan in tumor cells themselves appears to play an important role in the progression of cancer, influencing cell proliferation, motility, invasiveness and tumorigenicity. In addition, experiments and in which endoglin or betaglycan expression is modulated have provided evidence that they act as tumor suppressors. The purpose of this review is to highlight the potential of membrane and soluble forms of the endoglin and betaglycan proteins as molecular targets in cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Mots clés: Transforming growth factor-beta receptors; cancer; endoglin; betaglycan; angiogenesis

Carmelo Bernabeu, Jose M. Lopez-Novoa, Miguel Quintanilla. The Emerging Role of Tgf-β Superfamily Co-Receptors in Cancer. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Basis of Disease, 2009, 1792 (10), pp.954. ⟨10.1016/j.bbadis.2009.07.003⟩. ⟨hal-00521090⟩