Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 4, 2025
07:58
Cell-Free DNA Integrity Analysis in Urine Samples
Published on: January 5, 2017
14.0K
UPF1: a potential biomarker in human cancers
Bin-Lie Chen1,2, Huai-Ming Wang1, Xiao-Sheng Lin1
1Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, 515041 Shantou, China.
Frontiers in Bioscience (Landmark Edition)
|May 24, 2021
Summary
Up-frameshift protein 1 (UPF1) downregulation in cancer impairs nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), promoting tumor growth. UPF1 shows potential as a cancer biomarker for diagnosis and therapy.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Up-frameshift protein 1 (UPF1) is crucial for nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), a cellular process that eliminates faulty mRNA.
- UPF1 downregulation is observed in multiple cancer types, correlating with adverse patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the aberrant expression, functional roles, and molecular mechanisms of UPF1 in tumorigenesis.
- To highlight UPF1's potential as a diagnostic and therapeutic biomarker in oncology.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on UPF1 expression and function in cancer.
- Analysis of molecular mechanisms linking UPF1 dysfunction to tumor initiation and progression.
Main Results:
- UPF1 downregulation disrupts NMD, leading to the accumulation of aberrant transcripts.
- This NMD failure contributes significantly to cancer development and advancement.
- Low UPF1 expression is a predictor of poor prognosis in cancer patients.
Conclusions:
- UPF1 plays a critical role in suppressing tumor formation by maintaining NMD.
- Aberrant UPF1 expression and function are implicated in various cancers.
- UPF1 represents a promising biomarker for cancer detection and a potential target for novel cancer therapies.
