磷酸激酶因参与多种信号通路的异常激活导致肿瘤生成和发展而受到重视,但与磷酸激酶功能相对的磷酸酶却因与底物作用的瞬时性、缺乏底物特异性等多种原因较少得到深入研究。近年来,随着研究手段的不断进步,越来越多的结果显示,磷酸酶在疾病的发生发展中同样扮演了重要角色,如肝再生磷酸酶3(PRL-3),其异常高表达在实验动物、细胞培养和患者中均被证实与癌症发生、转移和预后密切相关。目前,关于其作用机制研究虽有一定进展,但仍有许多问题需要进一步解释。本文总结了迄今为止对PRL-3结构、功能和基因表达调控的研究进展,分析了PRL-3在癌症转移中的作用机制,并简要归纳了靶向PRL-3进行癌症治疗的一些最新现状。
Cell physiological events are tightly regulated by a serial of precise reactions,among which phosphorylation and dephosphorylation are no doubt the most important due to their critical roles in cell signaling. Numerous studies have been conducted in protein kinase that phosphorylates downstream components in tumorigenesis,however their counterpart,phosphatase,received relative less attention because traditionally it is considered non-specific to targets. With technology's advancement,it has been revealed that phosphatase also play an important role in carcinogenesis and progression. For example,its member,phosphatase of regenerating liver family,especially phosphatase of regenerating liver 3( PRL-3),has been demonstrated to be strongly related to carcinogenesis,metastasis,and prognosis in cells,animal models and patient samples. Although studies have explained some of its functions,the detailed and precise mechanisms are still unclear. In this review,we summarized recent studies in the structure,function,and regulation of PRL-3,focusing on its machinery in cancer metastasis. The most recent achievements made in therapy based on PRL-3 as a target are also introduced briefly.