Aberrant oxidative metabolism in cells is one of the hallmarks of
cancer. Overproduction of reactive species promotes
carcinogenesis by inducing genetic mutations and activating oncogenic pathways, and thus,
antioxidant therapy is considered as an important strategy for
cancer prevention and treatment.
Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), a constituent
protein of caveolae, is involved in not only the formation of the caveolae, vesicular transport, maintaining
cholesterol homeostasis directly, but also many cellular physiological and
pathological processes including growth, regulation of mitochondrial
antioxidant level, apoptosis and
carcinomas by interacting with a lot of signaling molecules through
caveolin scaffolding domain. Cav-1 has also been shown to mediate
tumor genesis and progression through oxidative stress modulation, while Cav-1-targeted treatment could scavenge the reactive species. Intracellular reactive species could modulate the expression, degradation, post-translational modifications and membrane trafficking of Cav-1. More importantly, emerging evidence has indicated that multiple
antioxidants could exert antitumor activities in
cancer cells by modulating the signaling of Cav-1. This paper reviewed the research progresses on the roles of Cav-1 and oxidative stress in
tumorigenesis and development, and would provide new insights on designing strategies for
cancer prevention or treatment.