THY1 (CD90) is a 25-37-kDa heavily N-glycosylated, glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored cell surface protein. It is usually expressed on thymocytes, mesenchymal stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells, natural killer cells, neurons, endothelial cells, renal glomerular mesangial cells, follicular dendritic cells, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts. It has been found to regulate cell adhesion, migration, apoptosis, axon growth, cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, T-cell activation, and fibrosis. Several reports have shown that CD90 has an important role in cancer in regulating cancer cell proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis. There are also evidences that CD90 is an important prognostic marker in many cancers. Consequently, therapies that target CD90 have great promise in treating many cancers. However, several studies also indicate a contradictory role for CD90, where it acts as a tumor suppressor. In this review, we summarize the expression, function of CD90 in different cancers and its possible use as a biomarker or a therapeutic target in cancer. The challenges and future prospects for the use of CD90 for clinical applications are also discussed in this review.
Tumour biology : the journal of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine. 2016 Jun 23 [Epub ahead of print]
Atul Kumar, Anshuman Bhanja, Jina Bhattacharyya, Bithiah Grace Jaganathan
Stem Cell and Cancer Biology Group, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India., Stem Cell and Cancer Biology Group, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India., Department of Hematology, Gauhati Medical College Hospital, Guwahati, Assam, India., Stem Cell and Cancer Biology Group, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India. .