The novel oncogene CD24 and its arising role in the carcinogenesis of the GI tract: from research to therapy

• Published in: Expert review of gastroenterology & hepatology Vol. 2; no. 1; pp. 125 - 133
• Main Authors: Sagiv, Eyal, Arber, Nadir
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 01.02.2008; Informa Healthcare
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies, Monoclonal - therapeutic use; cancer treatment; CD24; CD24 Antigen - genetics; CD24 Antigen - immunology; CD24 Antigen - metabolism; Gastroenterology; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - metabolism; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - physiopathology; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - therapy; GI cancer; Humans; monoclonal antibody; oncogene; P-selectin; signal transduction; tumor stem cell
• ISSN: 1747-4124; 1747-4132
• DOI: 10.1586/17474124.2.1.125

CD24 was first described in the early 1980s and only attributed to scattered publications, referred to as a cell surface molecule in hematopoiesis. Recently, studies are accumulating to show that CD24 conveys a function in cell-to-cell interaction and regulation of proliferation and adhesion. CD24 appears to be highly expressed in a large variety of human cancers and to contribute to the acceleration of tumor growth and metastases shedding by binding to platelet (P)-selectin, L1 and by evoking - to date unknown - intracellular signal pathways. Anti-CD24 monoclonal antibodies thus act as a promising cancer treatment as was shown in the setting of gastrointestinal cancers. Recent articles also correlate CD24 expression with the identification of 'tumor stem cells'.