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Updated: Dec 12, 2025
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Methods to Classify Cytoplasmic Foci as Mammalian Stress Granules
Published on: May 12, 2017
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Stress Granules in Cancer
Min-Seok Song1, Elda Grabocka2
1Department of Cancer Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology
|August 14, 2020
Summary
Stress granules (SGs) are membraneless organelles that form under cellular stress. Aberrant SG formation is linked to cancer, promoting tumor growth and drug resistance, making them a potential therapeutic target.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Cells organize biochemical reactions using organelles, often membrane-bound.
- Membraneless organelles, like stress granules (SGs), form via liquid-liquid phase separation in response to stimuli.
- Altered SG formation is implicated in stress-related diseases, including cancer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the role of stress granules in tumorigenesis.
- To investigate the link between SGs and cancer cell fitness.
- To identify SGs as potential therapeutic targets in cancer.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent evidence on SG formation and function.
- Analysis of signaling pathways (e.g., RAS, mTOR, HDAC6) influencing SG dynamics.
- Examination of SG roles in cancer cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance.
Main Results:
- Pro-tumorigenic signaling molecules upregulate SG formation.
- SGs integrate oncogenic signaling and stress stimuli, enhancing cancer cell fitness.
- SGs regulate cell survival/death and contribute to cancer progression and drug resistance.
Conclusions:
- Stress granules are key regulatory hubs in cancer.
- SGs play multifaceted roles in tumorigenesis, from survival to metastasis.
- Targeting SGs presents a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment.
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