Abstract
CD90 is a membrane GPI-anchored protein with one Ig V-type superfamily domain that was initially described in mouse T cells. Besides the specific expression pattern and functions of CD90 that were described in normal tissues, i.e., neurons, fibroblasts and T cells, increasing evidences are currently highlighting the possible involvement of CD90 in cancer. This review first provides a brief overview on CD90 gene, mRNA and protein features and then describes the established links between CD90 and cancer. Finally, we report newly uncovered functional connections between CD90 and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling and discuss their potential impact on cancer development.
Highlights
Thy-1/CD90 was first identified in 1964 on mouse T lymphocytes (Reif and Allen, 1964a,b) and on rat thymocytes and neural cells (Barclay et al, 1976)
Increasing evidence supports the importance of CD90 in cancer development
CD90 has been mainly considered as a useful cancer stem cell (CSC) marker in various cancer types such as kidney, brain, and liver
Summary
Thy-1/CD90 was first identified in 1964 on mouse T lymphocytes (Reif and Allen, 1964a,b) and on rat thymocytes and neural cells (Barclay et al, 1976). Induction of CD90 expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and ovarian cell lines leads to inhibition of tumor growth in vitro and in vivo, respectively (Abeysinghe et al, 2003; Lung et al, 2005) Overall, these observations illustrate the ambivalence of CD90 functions with either pro- or anti-tumoral properties depending on the cancer type. The same study demonstrated CD90 association with a cell adhesion/migration gene signature and with multifocal/multicentric MRI features in GBM patients This adhesion/migration profile is found in other CD90-expressing tumors such as colonic, pancreatic and ovarian cancers (Figure 2E). IRE1 activation has been shown to lead to c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK) phosphorylation through either the recruitment of TRAF2 (Urano et al, 2000) or the cleavage of miR17 (Lerner et al, 2012)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
