Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2025

Exploring the Regulation of Lipid Droplet Catabolism through Lipophagy
07:20

Exploring the Regulation of Lipid Droplet Catabolism through Lipophagy

Published on: January 31, 2025

426

Autotaxin-Lysophosphatidate Axis: Promoter of Cancer Development and Possible Therapeutic Implications

Carmelo Laface1, Angela Dalia Ricci1, Simona Vallarelli1

  • 1Medical Oncology Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology, IRCCS "S. de Bellis" Research Hospital, 70013 Castellana Grotte, Italy.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|July 27, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Autotaxin (ATX) and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) drive cancer growth, spread, and treatment resistance. Targeting the ATX-LPA axis offers potential as a cancer biomarker and therapeutic strategy.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Oncology

Background:

  • Autotaxin (ATX), an ENPP2 gene product, hydrolyzes lysophosphatidylcholine to lysophosphatidic acid (LPA).
  • The ATX-LPA axis influences numerous physiological and pathological processes, including cancer.
  • LPA signals through G protein-coupled receptors (LPAR1-6), impacting cellular functions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the literature on the ATX-LPA axis in cancer.
  • To elucidate the role of ATX-LPA in cancer development, progression, invasion, and therapeutic resistance.
  • To explore the potential of ATX-LPA as a biomarker and therapeutic target.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of scientific articles.
  • Analysis of studies on the ATX-LPA axis in cancer.
  • Synthesis of findings regarding cancer promotion and therapeutic resistance.

Main Results:

  • The ATX-LPA axis promotes cancer development, immune escape, metastasis, and the tumor microenvironment.
  • It is implicated in cancer stem cell characteristics and therapeutic resistance.
  • ATX and LPA show potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Conclusions:

  • The ATX-LPA axis is a significant factor in cancer progression and resistance.
  • Targeting this axis presents a promising avenue for cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
Keywords:
ATX-LPA axisENPP2autotaxin (ATX)cancerlysophosphatidic acid (LPA)lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC)lysophospholipase D (lysoD)tumor microenvironment

More Related Videos

Measuring Mitochondrial Function of Naïve and Effector CD8 T Cells06:07

Measuring Mitochondrial Function of Naïve and Effector CD8 T Cells

Published on: March 28, 2025

225
Evaluating Autophagy Levels in Two Different Pancreatic Cell Models Using LC3 Immunofluorescence08:07

Evaluating Autophagy Levels in Two Different Pancreatic Cell Models Using LC3 Immunofluorescence

Published on: April 28, 2023

1.5K

Related Concept Videos

Tumor Immunotherapy01:27

Tumor Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a treatment that boosts or manipulates the immune system to fight diseases, including cancer. For instance, by stimulating an immune response through vaccinations against viruses that cause cancers, like hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus, these diseases can be prevented. Nonetheless, some cancer cells can avoid the immune system due to their rapid mutation and division. The immune response to many cancers involves three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape.
498
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
3.8K
Delivery Pathways to the Lysosome01:36

Delivery Pathways to the Lysosome

Eukaryotic cells use different mechanisms to eliminate toxic waste obsolete and worn-out substances. Lysosomes play a pivotal role in this, and hence, these substances are carried to the lysosome from other parts of the cell and extracellular space through different pathways. The most elaborately studied pathways to the lysosome are the endocytic pathways.
Endocytosis
In endocytosis, the cell membrane takes up macromolecules and particles from the surrounding medium. Clathrin-mediated...
6.2K
Targeted Cancer Therapies02:57

Targeted Cancer Therapies

The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
7.5K
Autocrine Signaling01:01

Autocrine Signaling

Autocrine signaling is one of the many signaling mechanisms that function inside multicellular organisms to carry out intercellular communication. In this type of signaling mechanism, the same cell that secretes an extracellular signaling molecule also expresses the receptors to bind and respond to that signaling molecule.
Autocrine Signaling in Macrophages
Under normal physiological conditions, autocrine signaling is essential for maintaining homeostasis. This process is well characterized in...
47.9K
The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway01:31

The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

Internal cellular stress, such as cellular injury or hypoxia, triggers intrinsic apoptosis. The B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins are the primary regulators of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. For example, during DNA damage, checkpoint proteins, such as Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM protein) and Checkpoints Factor-2 (Chk2) proteins, are activated. These proteins phosphorylate p53 which further activates pro-apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, Bak, PUMA, and Noxa, and inhibits...
6.4K