A journey beyond apoptosis: new enigma of controlling metastasis by pro-apoptotic Par-4

Abstract

Prostate apoptotic response 4 (Par-4) is coined as a therapeutic protein since owing to its diverse physiologically relevant properties, especially in the cancer perspective. Albeit, Par-4 expression is not restricted to any specific tissue/organ, apart from cell death promotion (due to challenging threats), the other biological role of Par-4 is convincingly emerging. In the recent years, several laboratories have intended to dissect the signaling or mechanisms involved in Par-4 activation to augment apoptosis cascades but new developments in Par-4 research have widened its therapeutic potential. One of these important avenues is the prevention of metastasis by pro-apoptotic Par-4. In this review, we will focus on the therapeutic perspective of Par-4 with a special reference to its (Par-4) virgin prospect of devastating metastasis control.

Keywords: AKT; E-cadherin; EMT; MMP-2; Metastasis; Par-4.