Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.4
5.2
Journals
Cancers
Special Issues
Advances in Integrins in Cancer
share announcement

Advances in Integrins in Cancer

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Tumor Microenvironment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 7040

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Helen M. Sheldrake

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
Interests: integrin-targeted therapeutics; multi-integrin targeting; combination therapies in chemoresistance; cyclobutanes; biologically active natural product synthesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The integrin family of cell surface receptors mediate cell–extracellular matrix interactions in the vast majority of human cell types. Given their fundamental roles in normal development and healing, it is unsurprising that integrins also play significant roles in the development and progression of many types of cancer. Changes in integrin expression are common in cancers, allowing cells to migrate away from the original tumor site, establish metastases in specific organs, evade immune surveillance, and contribute to resistance to chemo-, radio-, and targeted therapy.

Both the up- and downregulation of specific integrins have been identified as prognostic biomarkers in different cancers. Integrins upregulated in cancers and angiogenesis have also been identified as therapeutic targets. However, the complexity of integrin functions, the redundancy of individual integrins within a subfamily, and the ability of cells to change their integrin expression in response to their surroundings have made the development of clinical anticancer therapeutics challenging. Focusing on less-investigated integrins in the β1 and αv subfamilies, as well as on new agonist and antagonist molecules, is likely to yield diagnostic or therapeutic breakthroughs in the future.

This Special Issue will highlight recent progress in understanding the contributions of integrins to tumor biology, in addition to new technologies that target integrins in tumors and the tumor microenvironment.

Dr. Helen M. Sheldrake
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • RGD-binding integrins
  • laminin-binding integrins
  • collagen-binding integrins
  • tumor–microenvironment interaction
  • therapy resistance
  • integrin-targeted drug delivery/diagnostics/theranostics
  • integrins as biomarkers

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 14737 KiB  
Article
Integrins Can Act as Suppressors of Ras-Mediated Oncogenesis in the Drosophila Wing Disc Epithelium
by Ana Martínez-Abarca Millán and María D. Martín-Bermudo
Cancers 2023, 15(22), 5432; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15225432 - 15 Nov 2023
Viewed by 811
Abstract
Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Key to cancer initiation and progression is the crosstalk between cancer cells and their microenvironment. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a major component of the tumour microenvironment and integrins, main cell-ECM adhesion receptors, are [...] Read more.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Key to cancer initiation and progression is the crosstalk between cancer cells and their microenvironment. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a major component of the tumour microenvironment and integrins, main cell-ECM adhesion receptors, are involved in every step of cancer progression. However, accumulating evidence has shown that integrins can act as tumour promoters but also as tumour suppressor factors, revealing that the biological roles of integrins in cancer are complex. This incites a better understating of integrin function in cancer progression. To achieve this goal, simple model organisms, such as Drosophila, offer great potential to unravel underlying conceptual principles. Here, we find that in the Drosophila wing disc epithelium the βPS integrins act as suppressors of tumours induced by a gain of function of the oncogenic form of Ras, RasV12. We show that βPS integrin depletion enhances the growth, delamination and invasive behaviour of RasV12 tumour cells, as well as their ability to affect the tumour microenvironment. These results strongly suggest that integrin function as tumour suppressors might be evolutionarily conserved. Drosophila can be used to understand the complex tumour modulating activities conferred by integrins, thus facilitating drug development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Integrins in Cancer)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

29 pages, 3549 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Cyclobutane-Based β3 Integrin Antagonists: A Novel Approach to Targeting Integrins for Cancer Therapy
by Mark Sutherland, Andrew Gordon, Fatemah O. F. O. Al-Shammari, Adam Throup, Amy Cilia La Corte, Helen Philippou, Steven D. Shnyder, Laurence H. Patterson and Helen M. Sheldrake
Cancers 2023, 15(16), 4023; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15164023 - 08 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1271
Abstract
The Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-binding family of integrin receptors, and notably the β3 subfamily, are key to multiple physiological processes involved in tissue development, cancer proliferation, and metastatic dissemination. While there is compelling preclinical evidence that both αvβ3 and αIIbβ3 are important anticancer targets, most [...] Read more.
The Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-binding family of integrin receptors, and notably the β3 subfamily, are key to multiple physiological processes involved in tissue development, cancer proliferation, and metastatic dissemination. While there is compelling preclinical evidence that both αvβ3 and αIIbβ3 are important anticancer targets, most integrin antagonists developed to target the β3 integrins are highly selective for αvβ3 or αIIbβ3. We report the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a new structural class of ligand-mimetic β3 integrin antagonist. These new antagonists combine a high activity against αvβ3 with a moderate affinity for αIIbβ3, providing the first evidence for a new approach to integrin targeting in cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Integrins in Cancer)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

24 pages, 1854 KiB  
Review
Regulation and Functions of α6-Integrin (CD49f) in Cancer Biology
by Rahele Khademi, Hossein Malekzadeh, Sara Bahrami, Najmaldin Saki, Reyhane Khademi and Luis G. Villa-Diaz
Cancers 2023, 15(13), 3466; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15133466 - 02 Jul 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2083
Abstract
Over the past decades, our knowledge of integrins has evolved from being understood as simple cell surface adhesion molecules to receptors that have a complex range of intracellular and extracellular functions, such as delivering chemical and mechanical signals to cells. Consequently, they actively [...] Read more.
Over the past decades, our knowledge of integrins has evolved from being understood as simple cell surface adhesion molecules to receptors that have a complex range of intracellular and extracellular functions, such as delivering chemical and mechanical signals to cells. Consequently, they actively control cellular proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Dysregulation of integrin signaling is a major factor in the development and progression of many tumors. Many reviews have covered the broader integrin family in molecular and cellular studies and its roles in diseases. Nevertheless, further understanding of the mechanisms specific to an individual subunit of different heterodimers is more useful. Thus, we describe the current understanding of and exploratory investigations on the α6-integrin subunit (CD49f, VLA6; encoded by the gene itga6) in normal and cancer cells. The roles of ITGA6 in cell adhesion, stemness, metastasis, angiogenesis, and drug resistance, and as a diagnosis biomarker, are discussed. The role of ITGA6 differs based on several features, such as cell background, cancer type, and post-transcriptional alterations. In addition, exosomal ITGA6 also implies metastatic organotropism. The importance of ITGA6 in the progression of a number of cancers, including hematological malignancies, suggests its potential usage as a novel prognostic or diagnostic marker and useful therapeutic target for better clinical outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Integrins in Cancer)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

33 pages, 30107 KiB  
Review
Integrins and the Metastasis-like Dissemination of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia to the Central Nervous System
by Signe Modvig, Jenani Jeyakumar, Hanne Vibeke Marquart and Claus Christensen
Cancers 2023, 15(9), 2504; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15092504 - 27 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2439
Abstract
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) disseminates with high prevalence to the central nervous system (CNS) in a process resembling aspects of the CNS surveillance of normal immune cells as well as aspects of brain metastasis from solid cancers. Importantly, inside the CNS, the ALL [...] Read more.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) disseminates with high prevalence to the central nervous system (CNS) in a process resembling aspects of the CNS surveillance of normal immune cells as well as aspects of brain metastasis from solid cancers. Importantly, inside the CNS, the ALL blasts are typically confined within the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled cavities of the subarachnoid space, which they use as a sanctuary protected from both chemotherapy and immune cells. At present, high cumulative doses of intrathecal chemotherapy are administered to patients, but this is associated with neurotoxicity and CNS relapse still occurs. Thus, it is imperative to identify markers and novel therapy targets specific to CNS ALL. Integrins represent a family of adhesion molecules involved in cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, implicated in the adhesion and migration of metastatic cancer cells, normal immune cells, and leukemic blasts. The ability of integrins to also facilitate cell-adhesion mediated drug resistance, combined with recent discoveries of integrin-dependent routes of leukemic cells into the CNS, have sparked a renewed interest in integrins as markers and therapeutic targets in CNS leukemia. Here, we review the roles of integrins in CNS surveillance by normal lymphocytes, dissemination to the CNS by ALL cells, and brain metastasis from solid cancers. Furthermore, we discuss whether ALL dissemination to the CNS abides by known hallmarks of metastasis, and the potential roles of integrins in this context. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Integrins in Cancer)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop