TGF-Beta Signaling in Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β plays pivotal roles in the control of different cellular processes, including proliferation, cell death, differentiation, and migration during both embryonic development and adulthood. Not surprisingly, dysregulation of its expression and/or altered activation of its intracellular signaling pathways contributes to human diseases, such as tissue fibrosis and cancer. During tumorigenesis, TGF-β may have anticancer activity at early stages, which is mainly due to its strong antiproliferative effect; however, strong evidence suggests that mutational inactivation of the canonical Smad pathway with concurrent overactivation of non-canonical Smad and non-Smad pathways could at later stages contribute to tumor progression by favoring immune suppression, cell invasion, and metastasis. Authors are invited to submit manuscripts that show how these pathways interact (crosstalk) with each other in tumor cells as compared to untransformed cells. The data may provide useful information on how to better and more selectively target TGF-β signaling for inhibition in various types of human cancer with the goal to enhance survival rates of cancer patients.

In this Special Issue, we aim to shed light on the state-of-the-art, as well as novel data, that contribute to increasing our knowledge on the role of TGF-β signaling in the development and progression of human cancer. We welcome experts in the field to contribute research papers and critical reviews on the various facets of TGF-β signaling that either suppress or promote cancer development, as well as on how natural and pharmacological pathway inhibitors for TGF-β signaling may be exploited as tools in anti-cancer therapies.

Prof. Dr. Hendrik Ungefroren
Guest Editor

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