Title:The Role of Clusterin in Carcinogenesis and its Potential Utility as Therapeutic Target
Volume: 23
Issue: 38
Author(s): T. Tellez, M. Garcia-Aranda and M. Redondo
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Clusterin, cancer, apoptosis, chemotherapy, antisense oligonucleotides, targeted therapy.
Abstract: Clusterin is a glycoprotein that has been implicated in many processes, including
apoptosis, cell cycle regulation and DNA repair. Since clusterin expression has also been
associated with tumorigenesis and the progression of various malignancies including prevalent
tumors like prostate, colon, bladder and breast, this protein has been proposed as a good
candidate for future treatments.
There have been numerous studies conducted in cell lines and xenograft models with successful
results that, in general, justify the use of clusterin as a therapeutic target. However, it
is still necessary to continue with these studies in order to achieve a better understanding of
the role of this protein in carcinogenesis and to determine those specific situations in which
its therapeutic use may be more favorable.
In this review, we will make a brief description of clusterin structure and genetics, its implication
in tumorigenesis and cancer progression and its prognosis utility. Finally, we will
analyze the effects of clusterin inhibition in different types of cancer.
