Caveolae-Associated Molecules, Tumor Stroma, and Cancer Drug Resistance: Current Findings and Future Perspectives

Abstract

The discovery of small, “cave-like” invaginations at the plasma membrane, called caveola, has opened up a new and exciting research area in health and diseases revolving around this cellular ultrastructure. Caveolae are rich in cholesterol and orchestrate cellular signaling events. Within caveola, the caveola-associated proteins, caveolins and cavins, are critical components for the formation of these lipid rafts, their dynamics, and cellular pathophysiology. Their alterations underlie human diseases such as lipodystrophy, muscular dystrophy, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. The expression of caveolins and cavins is modulated in tumors and in tumor stroma, and their alterations are connected with cancer progression and treatment resistance. To date, although substantial breakthroughs in cancer drug development have been made, drug resistance remains a problem leading to treatment failures and challenging translation and bench-to-bedside research. Here, we summarize the current progress in understanding cancer drug resistance in the context of caveola-associated molecules and tumor stroma and discuss how we can potentially design therapeutic avenues to target these molecules in order to overcome treatment resistance.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jan 25, 2022
Source ID
10.3390/cancers14030589

Entities

People

  • Jin-yih Low
  • Marikki Laiho
  • Patrick C. Walsh

Organizations

  • Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
  • National Institutes of Health

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Chemistry

Readers

  • Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • Oncology (Cancer Research).
  • Prostate Cancer Biology.