title: Regulatory functions of Nm23-H2 in tumorigenesis: insights from biochemical to clinical perspectives.
abstract: Substantial effort has been directed at elucidating the functions of the products of the Nm23 tumor metastasis suppressor genes over the past two decades, with the ultimate goal of exploring their translational potentials in changing cancer patients' outcomes. Much attention has been focused on the better-known Nm23-H1, but despite having high sequence similarity, Nm23-H2 functions differently in many aspects. Besides acting as a metastasis suppressor, compelling data suggest that Nm23-H2 may modulate various tumor-associated biological events to enhance tumorigenesis in human solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Linkage to tumorigenesis may occur through the ability of Nm23-H2 to regulate transcription, cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and telomerase activity. In this review, we examine the linkages of Nm23-H2 to tumorigenesis in terms of its biochemical and structural properties and discuss its potential role in various tumor-associated events.
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science and the Biotechnology Research Institute, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Yuanjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Yung H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D016259:Genes, myc; D006801:Humans; D039902:Multipotent Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology; D054778:NM23 Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D054778:NM23 Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinases; D019098:Telomerase