Hou Y, Guan X, Yang Z, Li C. Emerging role of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator - an epithelial chloride channel in gastrointestinal cancers. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2016; 8(3): 282-288 [PMID: 26989463 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v8.i3.282]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Chunying Li, PhD, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 540 E. Canfield Avenue, 5312 Scott Hall, Detroit, MI 48201, United States. cl@med.wayne.edu
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Mar 15, 2016; 8(3): 282-288 Published online Mar 15, 2016. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v8.i3.282
Emerging role of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator - an epithelial chloride channel in gastrointestinal cancers
Yuning Hou, Xiaoqing Guan, Zhe Yang, Chunying Li
Yuning Hou, Xiaoqing Guan, Zhe Yang, Chunying Li, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, United States
Author contributions: Hou Y reviewed and analyzed the literature and wrote the manuscript; Guan X and Yang Z reviewed the manuscript; Li C reviewed and revised the manuscript and gave the final approval of the manuscript.
Supported by American Cancer Society Institutional Research to Li C, No. 11-053-01-IRG; and National Institutes of Health grant HL128647 to Li C.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Chunying Li, PhD, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 540 E. Canfield Avenue, 5312 Scott Hall, Detroit, MI 48201, United States. cl@med.wayne.edu
Telephone: +1-313-5774182 Fax: +1-313-5772765
Received: September 5, 2015 Peer-review started: September 8, 2015 First decision: October 16, 2015 Revised: October 21, 2015 Accepted: December 18, 2015 Article in press: December 21, 2015 Published online: March 15, 2016 Processing time: 184 Days and 11.9 Hours
Abstract
Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), a glycoprotein with 1480 amino acids, has been well established as a chloride channel mainly expressed in the epithelial cells of various tissues and organs such as lungs, sweat glands, gastrointestinal system, and reproductive organs. Although defective CFTR leads to cystic fibrosis, a common genetic disorder in the Caucasian population, there is accumulating evidence that suggests a novel role of CFTR in various cancers, especially in gastroenterological cancers, such as pancreatic cancer and colon cancer. In this review, we summarize the emerging findings that link CFTR with various cancers, with focus on the association between CFTR defects and gastrointestinal cancers as well as the underlying mechanisms. Further study of CFTR in cancer biology may help pave a new way for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers.
Core tip: The present review aimed to analyze most published data regarding the emerging role of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), an epithelial chloride channel in many tissues and organs, in various cancers, with the focus on the link between CFTR dysfunction and gastrointestinal cancers. The possible underlying mechanisms have also been discussed.
