AI Article Synopsis
- The prostate is a major source of nerve growth factor (NGF), which influences both the growth and death of prostate cells, playing a dual role in cell proliferation.
- The presence of NGF receptors, p75(NGFR) and trkA, is essential for NGF's antiproliferative effects, with the loss of p75(NGFR) serving as an indicator of prostate cancer progression.
- This review suggests exploring NGF's role in cancer therapy, particularly by reintroducing p75(NGFR) or inhibiting trkA to promote cancer cell death and limit tumor growth.
Article Abstract
The prostate is one of the most abundant sources of nerve growth factor (NGF) in different species, including humans. NGF and its receptors are implicated in the control of prostate cell proliferation and apoptosis and it can either support or suppress cell growth. The co-expression of both NGF receptors, p75(NGFR) and tropomyosin-related kinase A (trkA), represents a crucial condition for the antiproliferative effect of NGF; indeed, p75(NGFR) is progressively lost during prostate tumorigenesis and its disappearance represents a malignancy marker of prostate adenocarcinoma (PCa). Interestingly, a dysregulation of NGF signal transduction was found in a number of human tumors. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the role of NGF and its receptors in prostate and in PCa. Conclusions bring to the hypothesis that the NGF network could be a candidate for future pharmacological manipulation in the PCa therapy: in particular the re-expression of p75(NTR) and/or the negative modulation of trkA could represent a target to induce apoptosis and to reduce proliferation and invasiveness of PCa.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/08977190903578678 | DOI Listing |
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