TY - JOUR
T1 - Cathepsin E as a potent anticancer protease
AU - Kawakubo, Tomoyo
AU - Yasukochi, Atsushi
AU - Nakamura, Seiji
AU - Yamamoto, Kenji
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Cathepsin E (CatE), an endolysosomal aspartic protease, is predominantly expressed in cells of the immune system, and CatE-deficient mice exhibit phenotypes affecting immune responses; however, the precise role of this enzyme remains speculative. In this review, some of the knowledge obtained from a study of CatE functions in host defense against tumor cells is highlighted. In vivo studies using three different genotypes of syngeneic mice (CatE-deficent, wild-type and CatE-overexpressing transgenic mice) revealed that endogenous CatE expression levels are positively associated with the extent of tumor suppression. The number of apoptotic tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating activated macrophages increased in proportion to the endogenous CatE levels. In vitro studies also demonstrated the growth arrest and apoptosis of tumor cells by CatE without affecting normal cells through the proteolytic release of soluble tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) from the cell surface. On the basis of these observations, the present review gives an account of the manifold functions of CatE in host defense against tumor cells.
AB - Cathepsin E (CatE), an endolysosomal aspartic protease, is predominantly expressed in cells of the immune system, and CatE-deficient mice exhibit phenotypes affecting immune responses; however, the precise role of this enzyme remains speculative. In this review, some of the knowledge obtained from a study of CatE functions in host defense against tumor cells is highlighted. In vivo studies using three different genotypes of syngeneic mice (CatE-deficent, wild-type and CatE-overexpressing transgenic mice) revealed that endogenous CatE expression levels are positively associated with the extent of tumor suppression. The number of apoptotic tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating activated macrophages increased in proportion to the endogenous CatE levels. In vitro studies also demonstrated the growth arrest and apoptosis of tumor cells by CatE without affecting normal cells through the proteolytic release of soluble tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) from the cell surface. On the basis of these observations, the present review gives an account of the manifold functions of CatE in host defense against tumor cells.
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U2 - 10.2330/joralbiosci.53.128
DO - 10.2330/joralbiosci.53.128
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:79958147715
VL - 53
SP - 128
EP - 136
JO - Journal of Oral Biosciences
JF - Journal of Oral Biosciences
SN - 1349-0079
IS - 2
ER -