Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Characterization of Cell Membrane Extensions and Studying Their Roles in Cancer Cell Adhesion Dynamics
08:11

Characterization of Cell Membrane Extensions and Studying Their Roles in Cancer Cell Adhesion Dynamics

Published on: March 26, 2018

Role of ADAMs in cancer formation and progression

Michael J Duffy1, Eadaoin McKiernan, Norma O'Donovan

  • 1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, St. Vincent's University Hospital, UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. MICHAEL.J.DUFFY@UCD.IE

Clinical Cancer Research : an Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Research
|February 21, 2009
PubMed

Insights

The ADAMs protein family, involved in releasing tumor-promoting ligands, plays a role in cancer development and progression. Inhibiting specific ADAMs shows promise for novel cancer therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Oncology

Background:

  • ADAMs (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase) are proteins involved in releasing key ligands like TNF-alpha and EGF.
  • These ligands are implicated in tumor formation and progression.
  • Specific ADAMs (e.g., ADAM-9, -12, -15, -17) are increasingly linked to malignancy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of ADAM proteins in cancer.
  • To explore the potential of ADAM inhibitors as cancer therapeutics.

Main Methods:

  • Review of emerging data from model systems and human cancer studies.
  • Analysis of ADAM expression levels in relation to tumor progression.
  • Evaluation of preclinical data on ADAM inhibitors (ADAM-10, ADAM-17) in combination therapies.

Main Results:

  • ADAMs are causally involved in tumor formation and progression in model systems.
  • Specific ADAMs are upregulated in human cancers, correlating with progression and poor outcomes.
  • ADAM inhibitors synergize with existing therapies to reduce tumor growth in preclinical models.

Conclusions:

  • ADAM proteins represent a novel therapeutic target family for cancer treatment.
  • Targeting ADAMs may be particularly effective for malignancies dependent on EGF receptor ligands or TNF-alpha.

More Related Videos

CAM-Delam Assay to Score Metastatic Properties by Quantifying Delamination and Invasion Capacity of Cancer Cells12:14

CAM-Delam Assay to Score Metastatic Properties by Quantifying Delamination and Invasion Capacity of Cancer Cells

Published on: June 2, 2022

Reprogramming Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma to Pluripotency07:08

Reprogramming Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma to Pluripotency

Published on: February 2, 2024

Related Concept Videos

Tumor Progression02:07

Tumor Progression

Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
Tumor Progression02:07

Tumor Progression

Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells02:53

Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells

Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells02:53

Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells

Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell02:21

Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell

Cancer arises from mutations in the critical genes that allow healthy cells to escape cell cycle regulation and acquire the ability to proliferate indefinitely. Though originating from a single mutation event in one of the originator cells, cancer progresses when the mutant cell lines continue to gain more and more mutations, and finally, become malignant. For example, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) develops initially as a non-lethal increase in white blood cells, which progressively...
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell02:21

Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell

Cancer arises from mutations in the critical genes that allow healthy cells to escape cell cycle regulation and acquire the ability to proliferate indefinitely. Though originating from a single mutation event in one of the originator cells, cancer progresses when the mutant cell lines continue to gain more and more mutations, and finally, become malignant. For example, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) develops initially as a non-lethal increase in white blood cells, which progressively...