Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 May;20(5):239-41.
doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2014.01.009. Epub 2014 Feb 10.

Lysosome: the cell's 'suicidal bag' as a promising cancer target

Melina-Theoni Gyparaki  1 , Athanasios G Papavassiliou  2
Affiliations

Lysosome: the cell's 'suicidal bag' as a promising cancer target

Melina-Theoni Gyparaki et al. Trends Mol Med. 2014 May.

Abstract

Lysosomes are organelles with an acidic lumen containing hydrolases, whose role is to break down macromolecules into their subunits. Cathepsins, which are lysosomal proteases, have important roles in cancer. Enhanced cathepsin activity out of the cell is linked to tumor growth, whereas such activity inside the cell is linked to tumor growth inhibition. Recently published studies on the opposing roles of cathepsin in cancer have investigated their potential as biochemical and nanotechnological therapeutic targets.

Keywords: cancer; cathepsin; lysosome; membrane; permeabilization; target.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources