title: S100A8/A9: a Janus-faced molecule in cancer therapy and tumorgenesis.
abstract: Correlations exist between the abundance of S100 proteins and disease pathologies. Indeed, this is evidenced by the heterodimeric S100 protein complex S100A8/A9 which has been shown to be involved in inflammatory and neoplastic disorders. However, S100A8/A9 appears as a Janus-faced molecule in this context. On the one hand, it is a powerful apoptotic agent produced by immune cells, making it a very fascinating tool in the battle against cancer. It spears the risk to induce auto-immune response and may serve as a lead compound for cancer-selective therapeutics. In contrast, S100A8/A9 expression in cancer cells has also been associated with tumor development, cancer invasion or metastasis. Clearly, there is a dichotomy and future investigations into the role of S100A8/A9 in cancer biology need to consider both sides of the same coin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
authors.forename: Saeid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghavami
authors.forename: Seth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chitayat
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashemi
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eshraghi
authors.forename: Walter J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Chazin
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Halayko
authors.forename: Claus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kerkhoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D040501:Calgranulin A / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D040502:Calgranulin B / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000503:physiopathology; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000503:physiopathology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D040501:Calgranulin A; D040502:Calgranulin B