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Involvement of the Opioid Peptide Family in Cancer Progression
Manuel Lisardo Sánchez1, Francisco D Rodríguez2,3, Rafael Coveñas1,3
1Laboratory of Neuroanatomy of the Peptidergic Systems, Institute of Neurosciences of Castilla and León (INCYL), University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
Abstract:
Peptides mediate cancer progression favoring the mitogenesis, migration, and invasion of tumor cells, promoting metastasis and anti-apoptotic mechanisms, and facilitating angiogenesis/lymphangiogenesis. Tumor cells overexpress peptide receptors, crucial targets for developing specific treatments against cancer cells using peptide receptor antagonists and promoting apoptosis in tumor cells. Opioids exert an antitumoral effect, whereas others promote tumor growth and metastasis. This review updates the findings regarding the involvement of opioid peptides (enkephalins, endorphins, and dynorphins) in cancer development. Anticancer therapeutic strategies targeting the opioid peptidergic system and the main research lines to be developed regarding the topic reviewed are suggested. There is much to investigate about opioid peptides and cancer: basic information is scarce, incomplete, or absent in many tumors. This knowledge is crucial since promising anticancer strategies could be developed alone or in combination therapies with chemotherapy/radiotherapy.
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