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Review
. 2022 Jun 29:10:914540.
doi: 10.3389/fcell.2022.914540. eCollection 2022.

Why is Mortalin a Potential Therapeutic Target for Cancer?

A-Rum Yoon  1   2   3 , Renu Wadhwa  4 , Sunil C Kaul  4 , Chae-Ok Yun  1   2   3   5
Affiliations
Review

Why is Mortalin a Potential Therapeutic Target for Cancer?

A-Rum Yoon et al. Front Cell Dev Biol. .

Abstract

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. Therefore, cancer therapy is a priority research field to explore the biology of the disease and identify novel targets for the development of better treatment strategies. Mortalin is a member of the heat shock 70 kDa protein family. It is enriched in several types of cancer and contributes to carcinogenesis in various ways, including inactivation of the tumor suppressor p53, deregulation of apoptosis, induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and enhancement of cancer stemness. It has been studied extensively as a therapeutic target for cancer treatment, and several types of anti-mortalin molecules have been discovered that effectively suppress the tumor cell growth. In this review, we 1) provide a comprehensive sketch of the role of mortalin in tumor biology; 2) discuss various anti-mortalin molecules, including natural compounds, synthetic small molecules, peptides, antibodies, and nucleic acids, that have shown potential for cancer treatment in laboratory studies; and 3) provide future perspectives in cancer treatment.

Keywords: MKT-077; cancer; i-mot ab; mortalin; mortaparib; mot-Adon; withaferin A; withanone.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author C-OY is a founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of GeneMedicine, Co., Ltd. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Mortalin-expressing oncolytic adenovirus. Active infection and replication of oncolytic adenovirus in tumor cells results in tumor-specific viral replication and oncolysis. Along with viral replication, the expression of shorthairpin RNA (shRNA) against mortalin is also restricted in cancer cells, resulting in decreased non-specific expression of shRNA and adverse side effects. shRNA against mortalin can reduce the proliferation, migration, stemness, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition, while enhancing the anti-angiogenesis and apoptosis in cancer cells. Collectively, oncolytic adenovirus-mediated oncolytic properties and shRNA against mortalin-mediated anticancer properties can synergistically regulate the anti-tumor effects on cancer cells.
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