NF-kappaB and cancer-identifying targets and mechanisms.

Abstract

A connection between inflammation and carcinogenesis has long been known, but the precise mechanisms are just beginning to be understood. NF-kappaB proteins, transcription factors which integrate stress signals and orchestrate immune responses, have also recently been linked to carcinogenesis. Hallmarks of cancer development include self-sufficiency in growth signals, insensitivity to growth-inhibitors, evasion of apoptosis, limitless replicative potential, tissue invasion and metastasis, and sustained angiogenesis. NF-kappaB signaling has been implicated in each of these hallmarks, and recent experimental studies have illuminated the mechanistic pathways by which NF-kappaB signaling contributes to these aspects of carcinogenesis. This review will focus on recent experimental data supporting the hypothesis that inflammation promotes carcinogenesis, and that NF-kappaB signaling is at the heart of such inflammation.

• Authors: Willscott E Naugler, Michael Karin
• Journal: Current opinion in genetics & development (Curr Opin Genet Dev) Vol. 18 Issue 1 Pg. 19-26 (Feb 2008) ISSN: 0959-437X [Print] England
• PMID: 18440219 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• NF-kappa B

Topics

• Apoptosis
• Cell Proliferation
• Humans
• Inflammation (complications)
• NF-kappa B (metabolism)
• Neoplasm Metastasis
• Neoplasms (blood supply, immunology, pathology)
• Neovascularization, Pathologic
• Signal Transduction