The Role of Ion Channels and Chemokines in Cancer Growth and Metastasis: A Proposed Mode of Action Using Peptides in Cancer Therapy.

Metastasis (Met) largely contributes to the major cause of cancer deaths throughout the world, rather than the growth of the tumor mass itself. The present report brings together several of the pertinent contributors to cancer growth and metastatic processes from an activity standpoint. Such biological activities include the following: (1) cell adherence and detachment; (2) cell-to-cell contact; (3) contact inhibition; (4) the cell interfacing with the extracellular matrix (ECM); (5) tumor cell-to-stroma communication networks; (6) chemotaxis; and (7) cell membrane potential.

Alpha-fetoprotein is an autoantigen in hepatocellular carcinoma and juvenile Batten disease.

Failure of immune tolerance leads to production of autoantibodies to self-antigens. The repertoire of autoantibodies detected in cancer patients can indicate the presence of autoimmune disease. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) autoantibodies have been found in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and in juvenile Batten disease (BD), a neurodegenerative condition involving autoimmunity.

Breast cancer and amyloid bodies: is there a role for amyloidosis in cancer-cell dormancy?

Breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are major causes of death in older women. Interestingly, breast cancer occurs less frequently in AD patients than in the general population. Amyloidosis, the aggregation of amyloid proteins to form amyloid bodies, plays a central role in the pathogenesis of AD and other human neuropathies by forming intracellular fibrillary proteins.

The alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) third domain: a search for AFP interaction sites of cell cycle proteins.

The carboxy-terminal third domain of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP-3D) is known to harbor binding and/or interaction sites for hydrophobic ligands, receptors, and binding proteins. Such reports have established that AFP-3D consists of amino acid (AA) sequence stretches on the AFP polypeptide that engages in protein-to-protein interactions with various ligands and receptors. Using a computer software program specifically designed for such interactions, the present report identified AA sequence fragments on AFP-3D that could potentially interact with a variety of cell cycle proteins.

Does alpha-fetoprotein contribute to the mortality and morbidity of human hepatocellular carcinoma? A commentary.

The fifth most common cancer worldwide is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), while being the third leading cause of global cancer-related deaths. Although HCC incidence is less frequent in North America, it is a common malignancy in Asia and Africa associated with a high rate of mortality and morbidity due to ineffective therapies against cancer growth, invasion, and metastasis. It is well established that serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is the "gold standard" biomarker for liver cancer; however, less known are the biological activities of AFP regarding carcinogenesis, growth, proliferation, and metastasis.