HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

From Cell Biology to Tissue Engineering

 

Review

Potential role of NDRG2 in reprogramming cancer metabolism and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

Xiang-Liu Chen, Lan Lei, Lian-Lian Hong and Zhi-Qiang Ling

Zhejiang Cancer Institute, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Zhejiang Cancer Center, Gongshu District, Hangzhou, P.R. China

Offprint requests to: Zhi-Qiang Ling, MD.,PhD, Professor, Zhejiang Cancer Institute, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Zhejiang Cancer Center. No.1 Banshan East Road, Gongshu District, Hangzhou 310022, P.R. China. e-mail: lingzq@zjcc.org.cn or lingzq@hotmail.com


Summary. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) allows a cell with epithelial characteristics to transdifferentiate into a cell with mesenchymal characteristics, which is recognized as a key priming event for the initiation and evolvement of cancer metastasis. Accumulating data has shown that aberrant cancer metabolism contributes to the execution of EMT and cancer metastasis through multiple pathological pathways. Recently, the N-MYC downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2), as a tumor suppressor and metabolism-related gene in various cancers, has been widely noted. NDGR2 is associated with energy metabolism, especially glycose metabolism. Hence, we propose a hypothesis that EMT is repressed by NDRG2 via cancer metabolic reprogramming, and summarize the pathological processes and molecular pathways related to the regulation of NDRG2. Histol Histopathol 33, 655-663 (2018)

Key words: NDRG2 (N-MYC downstream-regulated gene 2), Tumor suppressor gene, EMT (Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition), Metastasis, Metabolic reprogramming

DOI: 10.14670/HH-11-957