Proteoglycans (PGs) are a family of heavily glycosylated proteins consisting of a core protein covalently attached to glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and present in diverse environments, such as cell membrane surface, extracellular matrix, and intracellular granules. Extracellular proteoglycans play crucial roles in promoting cell signaling and migration by interaction with growth factor and/or their receptors, intracellular enzymes, extracellular ligands, matrix components, inflammatory cytokines, and structural proteins. Besides regulating the normal behavior and turnover of tissues, proteoglycans can also encourage tumor-microenvironment interactions via the same dysregulated pathways and facilitating metastasis, thus becoming important markers in cancer progression.
Proteoglycans play crucial roles in regulating tumor cell growth, proliferation, adhesion, metastasis and angiogenesis. These functions are widely mediated through interaction between their GAGs chains and several bioactive proteins such as growth factor, morphogens, adhesion molecules, chemokines, and cytokines.
The main goal of this Research Topic will be to provide a better understanding of the functional role of proteoglycans in all the aspects of carcinogenesis. In particular, the topics can be focused in, but not restricted to, to some aspects still debated such as the presence of proteoglycans in extracellular vesicle shared between cancer and normal tissue; the correlation between hormones and proteoglycans metabolism; the roles of PGs in cell cycle; changes in GAG composition and their roles in tumor development; epigenetics events that can lead to PGs alterations.
We welcome Original Research, Review and Perspective articles on:- PGs in cancer cell migration and adhesion- PGs in metastasis- PGs in angiogenesis- PGs and its associated signaling in cancer- PGs as Therapeutic Targets- PGs and GAGs changes in cancer- Epigenetic events in PGs metabolism
Please note: Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics, computational analysis, or predictions of public databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) will not be accepted in any of the sections of Frontiers in Oncology.
Keywords: Proteoglycans, Tumor Microenvironment, GAGs, Extracellular matrix, Metastasis
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
