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The nucleolus, an ally, and an enemy of cancer cells

The rates of ribosome production by a nucleolus and of protein biosynthesis by ribosomes are tightly correlated with the rate of cell growth and proliferation. All these processes must be matched and appropriately regulated to provide optimal cell functioning. Deregulation of certain factors, includ...

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Autor principal: Stępiński, Dariusz
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6267422/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30105457
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00418-018-1706-5
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author Stępiński, Dariusz
author_facet Stępiński, Dariusz
author_sort Stępiński, Dariusz
collection PubMed
description The rates of ribosome production by a nucleolus and of protein biosynthesis by ribosomes are tightly correlated with the rate of cell growth and proliferation. All these processes must be matched and appropriately regulated to provide optimal cell functioning. Deregulation of certain factors, including oncogenes, controlling these processes, especially ribosome biosynthesis, can lead to cell transformation. Cancer cells are characterized by intense ribosome biosynthesis which is advantageous for their growth and proliferation. On the other hand, this feature can be engaged as an anticancer strategy. Numerous nucleolar factors such as nucleolar and ribosomal proteins as well as different RNAs, in addition to their role in ribosome biosynthesis, have other functions, including those associated with cancer biology. Some of them can contribute to cell transformation and cancer development. Others, under stress evoked by different factors which often hamper function of nucleoli and thus induce nucleolar/ribosomal stress, can participate in combating cancer cells. In this sense, intentional application of therapeutic agents affecting ribosome biosynthesis can cause either release of these molecules from nucleoli or their de novo biosynthesis to mediate the activation of pathways leading to elimination of harmful cells. This review underlines the role of a nucleolus not only as a ribosome constituting apparatus but also as a hub of both positive and negative control of cancer development. The article is mainly based on original papers concerning mechanisms in which the nucleolus is implicated directly or indirectly in processes associated with neoplasia.
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spelling pubmed-62674222018-12-11 The nucleolus, an ally, and an enemy of cancer cells Stępiński, Dariusz Histochem Cell Biol Review The rates of ribosome production by a nucleolus and of protein biosynthesis by ribosomes are tightly correlated with the rate of cell growth and proliferation. All these processes must be matched and appropriately regulated to provide optimal cell functioning. Deregulation of certain factors, including oncogenes, controlling these processes, especially ribosome biosynthesis, can lead to cell transformation. Cancer cells are characterized by intense ribosome biosynthesis which is advantageous for their growth and proliferation. On the other hand, this feature can be engaged as an anticancer strategy. Numerous nucleolar factors such as nucleolar and ribosomal proteins as well as different RNAs, in addition to their role in ribosome biosynthesis, have other functions, including those associated with cancer biology. Some of them can contribute to cell transformation and cancer development. Others, under stress evoked by different factors which often hamper function of nucleoli and thus induce nucleolar/ribosomal stress, can participate in combating cancer cells. In this sense, intentional application of therapeutic agents affecting ribosome biosynthesis can cause either release of these molecules from nucleoli or their de novo biosynthesis to mediate the activation of pathways leading to elimination of harmful cells. This review underlines the role of a nucleolus not only as a ribosome constituting apparatus but also as a hub of both positive and negative control of cancer development. The article is mainly based on original papers concerning mechanisms in which the nucleolus is implicated directly or indirectly in processes associated with neoplasia. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2018-08-13 2018 /pmc/articles/PMC6267422/ /pubmed/30105457 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00418-018-1706-5 Text en © The Author(s) 2018 Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
spellingShingle Review
Stępiński, Dariusz
The nucleolus, an ally, and an enemy of cancer cells
title The nucleolus, an ally, and an enemy of cancer cells
title_full The nucleolus, an ally, and an enemy of cancer cells
title_fullStr The nucleolus, an ally, and an enemy of cancer cells
title_full_unstemmed The nucleolus, an ally, and an enemy of cancer cells
title_short The nucleolus, an ally, and an enemy of cancer cells
title_sort nucleolus, an ally, and an enemy of cancer cells
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6267422/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30105457
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00418-018-1706-5
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