Glycans as Regulatory Elements of the Insulin/IGF System: Impact in Cancer Progression
by
Julio Cesar M. De-Freitas-Junior 1
, Jéssica Andrade-da-Costa 1, Mariana Costa Silva 2,3 and Salomé S. Pinho 2,4,*
Julio Cesar M. De-Freitas-Junior 1, Jéssica Andrade-da-Costa 1, Mariana Costa Silva 2,3 and Salomé S. Pinho 2,4,*
1
Cellular and Molecular Oncobiology Program, Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA), Rio de Janeiro 20231-050, Brazil
2
Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of University of Porto (IPATIMUP) & Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S), University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
3
Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
4
Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(9), 1921; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18091921
Received: 27 July 2017 / Revised: 30 August 2017 / Accepted: 2 September 2017 / Published: 7 September 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue IGFs in Health and Disease)
The insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in mammals comprises a dynamic network of proteins that modulate several biological processes such as development, cell growth, metabolism, and aging. Dysregulation of the insulin/IGF system has major implications for several pathological conditions such as diabetes and cancer. Metabolic changes also culminate in aberrant glycosylation, which has been highlighted as a hallmark of cancer. Changes in glycosylation regulate every pathophysiological step of cancer progression including tumour cell-cell dissociation, cell migration, cell signaling and metastasis. This review discusses how the insulin/IGF system integrates with glycosylation alterations and impacts on cell behaviour, metabolism and drug resistance in cancer.
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Keywords:
insulin/IGF system; glycans; cancer; glycosylation
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
De-Freitas-Junior, J.C.M.; Andrade-da-Costa, J.; Silva, M.C.; Pinho, S.S. Glycans as Regulatory Elements of the Insulin/IGF System: Impact in Cancer Progression. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18, 1921.
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