The Role of eHsp90 in Extracellular Matrix Remodeling, Tumor Invasiveness, and Metastasis

Identifying proteins that act in tumor invasiveness and metastasis remains a critical unmet need in our search for effective cancer therapy. Hsp90, an abundant intracellular chaperone protein, plays a key role in maintaining cell homeostasis, and its elevated activity is pivotal in cancer progression. Due to the reliance of cancer cells on Hsp90's chaperone function to sustain tumor growth and spread, Hsp90 inhibitors have been the subject of numerous clinical trials over the past two decades. However, these efforts have largely been unsuccessful, primarily due to the cellular toxicity caused by pan-Hsp90 inhibitors at doses required for anticancer efficacy. Therefore, novel approaches to target Hsp90 are necessary. An identified subpopulation of Hsp90 located outside cells (eHsp90) may offer a promising alternative as a therapeutic target against cancer. Studies including our own have shown that eHsp90 is released specifically by cancer cells, and eHsp90 has unique interactors and functions extracellularly to promote tumor invasiveness, the initial step in metastasis. Inhibition of eHsp90 has been shown to suppress metastasis in animal models, indicating its therapeutic potential, although the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Cancer cells modulate the tumor microenvironment (TME) during the invasion, especially the ECM proteins and the state of the ECM is a strong predictor of invasive and metastatic cancer. Given that most of the known eHsp90 clients are ECM proteins or are proteins involved in ECM modulation, ECM remodelling could be the key mechanism through which eHsp90 enhances invasiveness. This review will focus on ECM modulation by eHsp90 as a driver of cancer invasion and metastasis. We will also discuss the potency of inhibiting eHsp90 in inhibiting invasion and metastatic spread in preclinical models and the using circulating Hsp90 patient samples as a biomarker of cancer invasion and metastasis.