Membrane trafficking alterations in breast cancer progression

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Cell Biology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Breast cancer (BC) is a leading cause of cancer death in women globally.
• Altered membrane trafficking pathways are increasingly recognized as critical in BC progression, influencing cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and metastasis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the roles of ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) and rat sarcoma (RAS)-related in brain (RABs) in breast cancer.
• To elucidate how ARF and RAB family members and their regulators are subverted in BC progression.
• To provide a foundation for future research into ARF and RABs as therapeutic targets or prognostic markers in BC.

Main Methods:

• Literature review focusing on ARF and RAB family members in the context of breast cancer.
• Analysis of how membrane trafficking processes regulated by ARFs and RABs are altered in BC.
• Synthesis of current knowledge on the dysregulation of ARFs and RABs in BC progression.

Main Results:

• ARFs and RABs, key regulators of membrane trafficking, are dysregulated in BC.
• Subverted processes include secretion, endocytosis, autophagy, and cytoskeleton dynamics.
• ARF-like (ARL) proteins are involved in vesicle budding and cargo selection, while ARFs also regulate cytoskeleton and signaling.

Conclusions:

• ARF and RAB small GTP-binding proteins play crucial roles in BC progression through their regulation of membrane trafficking.
• Understanding the specific mechanisms by which ARFs and RABs are subverted in BC is essential.
• ARFs and RABs represent promising avenues for developing novel therapeutic strategies and prognostic markers for breast cancer.