Targeting Aquaporins in Novel Therapies for Male and Female Breast and Reproductive Cancers
1
Discipline of Physiology, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
2
Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Robinson Research Institute, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Giuseppe Calamita
Cells 2021, 10(2), 215; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10020215
Received: 21 December 2020 / Revised: 13 January 2021 / Accepted: 20 January 2021 / Published: 22 January 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Aquaporins)
Aquaporins are membrane channels in the broad family of major intrinsic proteins (MIPs), with 13 classes showing tissue-specific distributions in humans. As key physiological modulators of water and solute homeostasis, mutations, and dysfunctions involving aquaporins have been associated with pathologies in all major organs. Increases in aquaporin expression are associated with greater severity of many cancers, particularly in augmenting motility and invasiveness for example in colon cancers and glioblastoma. However, potential roles of altered aquaporin (AQP) function in reproductive cancers have been understudied to date. Published work reviewed here shows distinct classes aquaporin have differential roles in mediating cancer metastasis, angiogenesis, and resistance to apoptosis. Known mechanisms of action of AQPs in other tissues are proving relevant to understanding reproductive cancers. Emerging patterns show AQPs 1, 3, and 5 in particular are highly expressed in breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers, consistent with their gene regulation by estrogen response elements, and AQPs 3 and 9 in particular are linked with prostate cancer. Continuing work is defining avenues for pharmacological targeting of aquaporins as potential therapies to reduce female and male reproductive cancer cell growth and invasiveness.
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Keywords:
aquaporins; AQPs; reproductive cancer; metastasis
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MDPI and ACS Style
Khan, S.; Ricciardelli, C.; Yool, A.J. Targeting Aquaporins in Novel Therapies for Male and Female Breast and Reproductive Cancers. Cells 2021, 10, 215. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10020215
AMA Style
Khan S, Ricciardelli C, Yool AJ. Targeting Aquaporins in Novel Therapies for Male and Female Breast and Reproductive Cancers. Cells. 2021; 10(2):215. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10020215
Chicago/Turabian StyleKhan, Sidra; Ricciardelli, Carmela; Yool, Andrea J. 2021. "Targeting Aquaporins in Novel Therapies for Male and Female Breast and Reproductive Cancers" Cells 10, no. 2: 215. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10020215
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