title: Fascin: a key regulator of cytoskeletal dynamics.
abstract: Fascin is a 55 kDa actin-bundling protein and is an important regulatory element in the maintenance and stability of parallel bundles of filamentous actin in a variety of cellular contexts. Regulation of fascin function is under the control of a number of different signalling pathways that act in concert to spatially regulate the actin-binding properties of this protein. The ability of fascin to bind and bundle actin plays a central role in the regulation of cell adhesion, migration and invasion. Fascin has received considerable attention recently as an emerging key prognostic marker of metastatic disease. Studies are now underway to better understand the precise regulation of this protein in the context of tumour progression and to investigate fascin as a potential therapeutic target for a number of forms of cancer.
authors.affiliation: Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Asier
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jayo
authors.forename: Maddy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parsons
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002465:Cell Movement; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D018450:Disease Progression; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011379:Prognosis; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; C020324:fascin