Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2025
Author Spotlight: Unveiling Transmembrane Protein Family-Related Markers in Gastric Cancer and Implications for Targeted Therapies
Published on: September 15, 2023
DEAD-box helicase family proteins: emerging targets in digestive system cancers and advances in targeted drug
Xiaochao Ma1, Tianyu Lu1, Yue Yang1
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Organ Transplantation Center, the First Hospital of Jilin University, 1 Ximin Street, ChangchunJilin, 130021, China.
Abstract:
Cancer has become one of the major diseases threatening human health in the twenty-first century due to its incurability. In 2022, new cases of esophageal and gastrointestinal cancers accounted for 17.1% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases worldwide. Despite significant improvements in early cancer screening, clinical diagnostics, and treatments in recent years, the overall prognosis of digestive system cancer patients remains poor. The DEAD-box helicase family, a crucial member of the RNA helicase family, participates in almost every aspect of RNA metabolism, including transcription, splicing, translation, and degradation, and plays a key role in the occurrence and progression of various cancers. This article aims to summarize and discuss the role and potential clinical applications of DEAD-box helicase family proteins in digestive system cancers. The discussion includes the latest progress in the occurrence, development, and treatment of esophageal and gastrointestinal tumors; the main functions of DEAD-box helicase family proteins; their roles in digestive system cancers, including their relationships with clinical factors; effects on cancer proliferation, migration, and invasion; and involved signaling pathways; as well as the existing inhibitory strategies targeting DDX family proteins, are discussed. Additionally, outlooks on future research directions are provided.
Insights
DEAD-box helicase proteins are vital in RNA metabolism and play a key role in digestive system cancers. This review explores their functions and potential as therapeutic targets for esophageal and gastrointestinal tumors.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Digestive system cancers, including esophageal and gastrointestinal tumors, represent a significant global health burden with poor prognoses despite advances in treatment.
- DEAD-box helicase (DDX) proteins are essential RNA helicases involved in numerous RNA metabolic processes, crucial for cellular function.
- Dysregulation of DDX proteins is implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of various cancers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively review the role of DEAD-box helicase family proteins in the occurrence, development, and progression of digestive system cancers.
- To discuss the potential clinical applications and therapeutic strategies targeting DDX proteins in esophageal and gastrointestinal malignancies.
- To highlight recent advancements and future research directions in this field.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of existing research on DEAD-box helicases and digestive system cancers.
- Analysis of the functions of DDX family proteins in RNA metabolism.
- Examination of the association between DDX proteins and clinical factors, cancer proliferation, migration, invasion, and signaling pathways in digestive system cancers.
Main Results:
- DEAD-box helicase proteins are significantly involved in the development and progression of esophageal and gastrointestinal cancers.
- DDX proteins influence cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through various signaling pathways.
- Specific DDX family members show correlations with clinical parameters, indicating their prognostic and diagnostic potential.
Conclusions:
- DEAD-box helicase proteins are critical regulators in digestive system cancers, offering promising targets for novel therapeutic interventions.
- Targeting DDX family proteins presents a potential strategy for improving treatment outcomes in esophageal and gastrointestinal cancer patients.
- Further research into the specific roles and inhibitory strategies of DDX proteins is warranted for clinical translation.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:57Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
00:55DNA Helicases
01:26Targets for Drug Action: Overview
Receptors are either membrane-spanning or intracellular proteins, which upon binding a ligand, get activated and transmit the signal downstream to elicit a response. Drugs bind receptors, either mimicking the action of endogenous ligands or blocking the receptor activity to bring about a modified response. Nearly 35% of approved drugs target the G...
02:15M-Cdk Drives Transition Into Mitosis
Cyclin-dependent kinases, or Cdks, work in concert with cyclins to control cell cycle transitions. M-Cdk, a complex of Cdk1 bound to M cyclin, is a well-known example of this coordinated control that drives the transition from the G2 to the M phase.
M cyclin...
02:50Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
02:40Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...