Open Access

Primary cilia and their role in cancer (Review)

  • Authors:
    • Michael Higgins
    • Ismael Obaidi
    • Tara McMorrow
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: January 17, 2019     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2019.9942
  • Pages: 3041-3047
  • Copyright: © Higgins et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Primary cilia are microtubule‑based organelles that are expressed on almost all mammalian cells. It has become apparent that these structures are important signaling hubs that serve crucial roles in Wnt, hedgehog, extracellular signal‑regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen‑activated protein kinase (MAPK) and Notch signaling pathways. A number of diseases have been found to involve dysfunctional primary cilia; collectively these diseases are called ciliopathies. In recent years, there has been more focus on the association between primary cilia and cancer, including renal, pancreatic and breast cancer. Numerous studies have demonstrated that various types of cancer cells fail to express cilia. Notably, it has also been indicated that a number of renal carcinogens induce a significant loss of cilia in renal epithelial cells. The present review focuses on the existing literature regarding primary cilia and their involvement with cancer signaling pathways, providing a brief overview of the structural features and functions of primary cilia, then discussing the evidence associating primary cilia with cancer, and presenting the available information on the ERK/MAPK, hedgehog and Wnt signaling pathways, and their involvement in primary cilia in association with cancer.
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March-2019
Volume 17 Issue 3

Print ISSN: 1792-1074
Online ISSN:1792-1082

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Spandidos Publications style
Higgins M, Obaidi I and McMorrow T: Primary cilia and their role in cancer (Review). Oncol Lett 17: 3041-3047, 2019
APA
Higgins, M., Obaidi, I., & McMorrow, T. (2019). Primary cilia and their role in cancer (Review). Oncology Letters, 17, 3041-3047. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2019.9942
MLA
Higgins, M., Obaidi, I., McMorrow, T."Primary cilia and their role in cancer (Review)". Oncology Letters 17.3 (2019): 3041-3047.
Chicago
Higgins, M., Obaidi, I., McMorrow, T."Primary cilia and their role in cancer (Review)". Oncology Letters 17, no. 3 (2019): 3041-3047. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2019.9942