Prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer and the sixth leading cause of death from cancer in men.
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process by which cancer cells invade and migrate, and is characterized by loss of cell-cell adhesion molecules such as E-cadherin and increased expression of mesenchymal proteins such as vimentin; EMT is also associated with resistance to therapy. Snail, a master regulator of EMT, has been extensively studied and reported in cancers such as breast and colon; however, its role in prostate cancer is not as widely reported. The purpose of this review is to put together recent facts that summarize Snail signaling in human prostate cancer. Snail is overexpressed in prostate cancer and its expression and activity is controlled via phosphorylation and growth factor signaling. Snail is involved in its canonical role of inducing EMT in prostate cancer cells; however, it plays a role in non-canonical pathways that do not involve EMT such regulation of bone turnover and neuroendocrine differentiation. Thus, studies indicate that Snail signaling contributes to prostate cancer progression and metastasis and therapeutic targeting of Snail in prostate cancer holds promise in future.
Written by:
Smith BN, Odero-Marah VA. Are you the author?
Center for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Development, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Reference: Cell Adh Migr. 2012 Sep-Oct;6(5):433-41.
doi: 10.4161/cam.21687
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23076049
UroToday.com Investigative Urology Section
