Tumour progression and cancer-induced pain: a role for protease-activated receptor-2?

Abstract

The role of proteases in modifying the microenvironment of tumour cells has long been recognised. With the discovery of the protease-activated receptor family of G protein-coupled receptors a mechanism for cells to sense and respond directly to proteases in their microenvironment was revealed. Many early studies described the roles of protease-activated receptors in the cellular events that occur during blood coagulation and inflammation. More recently, studies have begun to focus on the roles of protease-activated receptors in the establishment, progression and metastasis of a variety of tumours. This review will focus on the expression of protease-activated receptor-2 and its activators by normal and neoplastic tissues, and describe current evidence that activation of protease-activated receptor-2 is an important event at multiple stages of tumour progression and in pain associated with cancer.

• Authors: Pamuditha K Kularathna, Charles N Pagel, Eleanor J Mackie
• Journal: The international journal of biochemistry & cell biology (Int J Biochem Cell Biol) Vol. 57 Pg. 149-56 (Dec 2014) ISSN: 1878-5875 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 25448411 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Receptor, PAR-2

Topics

• Animals
• Disease Progression
• Humans
• Neoplasms (complications, metabolism, pathology)
• Pain (drug therapy, etiology, metabolism)
• Receptor, PAR-2 (metabolism)
• Signal Transduction