Stomatin and Stomatin-Like Proteins Can Regulate Transporter Proteins Activity and Has a Role in Cancer Metastasis

Stomatin, encoded by STOM gene, is an integral membrane protein found in a wide variety of species. Although years have passed since the identification of stomatin, little has been known about the functional insights of stomatin among which stomatin undergoing homo-oligomerization, post and reverse-post modifications are the notable ones. Stomatin downregulation or overexpression is directly connected to its ability to control neutrophil degranulation, modulate activities of transporter proteins, and mediate cancer metastasis. Stomatin shares about 40-80% sequence similarity at its signature SPFH (stomatin, prohibitin, flotillin and Hlfk) domain region with the stomatin-like proteins (SLPs). Although stomatin and SLPs are reported to have various therapeutic activities, still gaps are there regarding their plausible mechanistic insights. Therefore, in future, studies should be aimed toward investigating the possible mechanistic pathways controlled by stomatin and SLPs which can be employed to understand the basis of many therapeutic targets. This review briefs about the different functions of stomatin focusing mainly on the transporter proteins and carcinogenicity modulation by stomatin and SLPs.