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Review
. 2022 Jul 21:12:883831.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.883831. eCollection 2022.

CD44 Glycosylation as a Therapeutic Target in Oncology

Chengcheng Liao  1   2 , Qian Wang  2   3 , Jiaxing An  4 , Jie Chen  5 , Xiaolan Li  2   3 , Qian Long  1   2 , Linlin Xiao  1   2 , Xiaoyan Guan  1   2 , Jianguo Liu  1   2
Affiliations
Review

CD44 Glycosylation as a Therapeutic Target in Oncology

Chengcheng Liao et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

The interaction of non-kinase transmembrane glycoprotein CD44 with ligands including hyaluronic acid (HA) is closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors. Changes in CD44 glycosylation can regulate its binding to HA, Siglec-15, fibronectin, TM4SF5, PRG4, FGF2, collagen and podoplanin and activate or inhibit c-Src/STAT3/Twist1/Bmi1, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, ERK/NF-κB/NANOG and other signaling pathways, thereby having a profound impact on the tumor microenvironment and tumor cell fate. However, the glycosylation of CD44 is complex and largely unknown, and the current understanding of how CD44 glycosylation affects tumors is limited. These issues must be addressed before targeted CD44 glycosylation can be applied to treat human cancers.

Keywords: CD44; HCELL; fucosylation; glycosylation; hyaluronic acid; sialylation.

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Conflict of interest statement

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
CD44 gene and CD44s protein structure. (A) Schematic representation of full-length CD44, CD44s, CD44v3, CD44v6 and CD44v8-10. (B) Example structure and N-glycan pattern of myeloma CD44-HABD monosialo (12).
Figure 2
Figure 2
N-Glycans mudel presented on CD44s.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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