Glycans as Regulatory Elements of the Insulin/IGF System: Impact in Cancer Progression

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 18; no. 9; p. 1921
• Main Authors: de-Freitas-Junior, Julio Cesar M, Andrade-da-Costa, Jéssica, Silva, Mariana Costa, Pinho, Salomé S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 07.09.2017; MDPI
• Subjects: Aberration; Animals; Biological activity; Cancer; Cell adhesion & migration; Diabetes mellitus; Drug metabolism; Drug resistance; glycans; Glycosylation; Humans; Insulin; Insulin - genetics; Insulin - metabolism; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - genetics; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - metabolism; Insulin-like growth factors; insulin/IGF system; Metabolism; Metastases; Neoplasms - genetics; Neoplasms - metabolism; Neoplasms - pathology; Polysaccharides; Polysaccharides - metabolism; Proteins; Regulatory sequences; Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid - genetics; Review; Signal Transduction - genetics; Signal Transduction - physiology; Tumors; insulin/IGF system; glycosylation; cancer; glycans
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms18091921

The insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in mammals comprises a dynamic network of proteins that modulate several biological processes such as development, cell growth, metabolism, and aging. Dysregulation of the insulin/IGF system has major implications for several pathological conditions such as diabetes and cancer. Metabolic changes also culminate in aberrant glycosylation, which has been highlighted as a hallmark of cancer. Changes in glycosylation regulate every pathophysiological step of cancer progression including tumour cell-cell dissociation, cell migration, cell signaling and metastasis. This review discusses how the insulin/IGF system integrates with glycosylation alterations and impacts on cell behaviour, metabolism and drug resistance in cancer.