Gelsolin: A new insight of its role on gastric cancer dissemination

Abstract

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide, with more than 700,000 cases of death. Histopathologically, GC can be classified into two main subtypes, the intestinal- and diffuse-type GC. These two subtypes differ not only in histological parameters, but also show distinct profiles of gene alternations. In this research highlight, we provide a summary of gene mutations in both the intestinal- and diffuse-type GC, and also highlight our recent findings on the role gelsolin, an actin-regulating protein, in GC dissemination. We recently found that gelsolin is differentially expressed in intestinal and diffuse type GC, and uncovered its involvement in the HGF/c-Met oncogenic pathway, which is a frequent activated signaling pathway in GC dissemination. Other roles of gelsolin in cancer development have also been discussed, with a focus on its potential link to oncogenic pathways and gene alternations in cancer metastasis. Our work provides a potential link between gelsolin and pro-invasive pathways in GC, and hence suggest a potential avenue for combating GC dissemination and metastasis with consideration of gelsolin status.