Journal
EXPERT OPINION ON THERAPEUTIC TARGETS
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pages 1227-1238Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1517/14728222.2012.720975
Keywords
astrocytoma; brain tumors; cancer stem cells; GLI1; glioma; medulloblastoma; neuroblastoma; PTCH; SMO; sonic hedgehog
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Funding
- Departmento de Salud del Gobierno de Navarra, Caja Navarra [13912]
- Fundacion Universitaria de Navarra, Pamplona
- Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria, Madrid [PI081849]
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Introduction: The sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway is a regulatory network involved in development and cancer. Proteins like Ptch, SMO, and Gli are central to the Shh pathway. Other proteins like HHIP, SUFU, Bmi-1, Cyclin D2, Plakoglobin, PAX6, Nkx2.2, and SFRP1 are not so well understood in Shh regulation as Gli-1 downstream target genes. Areas covered: In this review we try to explain the Shh pathway components and their role in development and cancer, mainly of the brain. A summary of each of the proteins is presented together with an overview of their involvement in cancer. Expert opinion: Genetic alterations of the Shh pathway have been detected in cancer stem cells, a subgroup of tumor cells implicated in the origin and maintenance of tumors, being responsible for cancer recurrence and chemotherapy resistance. Cancer stem cells constitute a novel target for biomedical researchers. Specifically, the Shh pathway is being explored as a new opportunity for targeted therapies against tumors. Therefore, a better knowledge of every of the regulators of the Shh pathway is needed.
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