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Updated: Jan 5, 2026

Micropatterned Surfaces to Study Hyaluronic Acid Interactions with Cancer Cells
Published on: December 22, 2010
Involvement of hyaluronan and CD44 in cancer and viral infections
Paraskevi Heldin1, Constantinos Kolliopoulos1, Chun-Yu Lin2
1Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Box 582, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden.
Abstract:
Hyaluronan and its major receptor CD44 are ubiquitously distributed. They have important structural as well as signaling roles, regulating tissue homeostasis, and their expression levels are tightly regulated. In addition to signaling initiated by the interaction of the intracellular domain of CD44 with cytoplasmic signaling molecules, CD44 has important roles as a co-receptor for different types of receptors of growth factors and cytokines. Dysregulation of hyaluronan-CD44 interactions is seen in diseases, such as inflammation and cancer. In the present communication, we discuss the mechanism of hyaluronan-induced signaling via CD44, as well as the involvement of hyaluronan-engaged CD44 in malignancies and in viral infections.
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