title: Spindle Assembly Checkpoint as a Potential Target in Colorectal Cancer: Current Status and Future Perspectives.
abstract: Colorectal cancer (CRC), one of the most common malignancies worldwide, is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, and resistance to chemotherapeutic and existing targeted therapy is a major obstacle to its successful treatment. New targets that offer alternative clinical options are therefore urgently needed. Recently, perturbation of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), the surveillance mechanism that maintains anaphase inhibition until all chromosomes reach the metaphase plate, has been regarded as a promising target to fight cancer cells, either alone or in combination regimens. Consistent with this strategy, many cancers, including CRC, exhibit altered expression of SAC genes. In this article, we review our current knowledge on SAC activity status in CRC, and on current anti-CRC strategies and future therapeutic perspectives on the basis of SAC targeting experiments in vitro and in animal models.
authors.affiliation: CESPU, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada em Ciências e Tecnologias da Saúde, Instituto Universitário de Ciências da Saúde, Gandra, Paredes, Portugal; Departamento Ciências Biomédicas e Medicina, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Vânia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Diogo
authors.affiliation: CESPU, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada em Ciências e Tecnologias da Saúde, Instituto Universitário de Ciências da Saúde, Gandra, Paredes, Portugal; Departamento Ciências Biomédicas e Medicina, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.affiliation: CESPU, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada em Ciências e Tecnologias da Saúde, Instituto Universitário de Ciências da Saúde, Gandra, Paredes, Portugal; Departamento Ciências Biomédicas e Medicina, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal; Center for Biomedical Research (CBMR), University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Patrícia M A
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: CESPU, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada em Ciências e Tecnologias da Saúde, Instituto Universitário de Ciências da Saúde, Gandra, Paredes, Portugal; Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR/CIMAR), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: hassan.bousbaa@iscsn.cespu.pt.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bousbaa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D059566:M Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: Aneuploidy; Cancer; Gene expression; Spindle checkpoint genes; Targeted therapy