[Filamin A as a mediator of alterations in cancer cells]

Filamin A (FLNA, filamin-1) is a homodimeric protein, commonly expressed in animal organisms. Its basic function in the cell is actin crosslinking and forming 3D cytoskeleton structure. Filamin-1 interacts with more than 60 different proteins with various functions such as: cell membrane and cytoskeleton formation, maintaining cell shape, intracellular signaling, nuclear functions or GTP-binding proteins regulation. FLNA interactions with oncogenesis- and metastasis-related proteins, such as K-RAS, TRAF2 or NIK indicate its crucial role in cancer progression. Filamin-1 undergoes proteolytic fragmentation producing products, translocation of which to the nucleus may be related to alterations in the cell metastatic ability. It was also demonstrated that FLNA dysfunctions can lead to sensitization of cells to ionizing irradiation or common chemotherapeutics: bleomycin and cisplatin. These findings indicate that FLNA can be considered as a novel target in anti-cancer therapy.