Rachana Agarwal

Publication Detail

The publication detail shows the title, authors (with indicators showing other profiled authors), information on the publishing organization, abstract and a link to the article in PubMed. This abstract is what is used to create the fingerprint of the publication. If any grants are referenced by the publication, they will be listed here as well.

Claudins: emerging targets for cancer therapy.

Scott L Kominsky (Profiled Author: Scott Kominsky)

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 720 Rutland Ave, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. kominsc@jhmi.edu
Expert reviews in molecular medicine 2006;8(18):1-11.

The claudin (CLDN) family of transmembrane proteins plays a critical role in the maintenance of epithelial and endothelial tight junctions. In addition to their function in preserving the structure of tight junctions, CLDNs might also play a role in the maintenance of the cytoskeleton and in cell signalling. Interestingly, several studies have recently reported specific CLDN family members to be overexpressed in a wide variety of cancer types. Although their functional role in cancer progression remains unclear, the differential expression of these proteins between tumour and normal cells, in addition to their membrane localisation, makes them prime candidates for cancer therapy. Preclinical studies have shown that tumour cells overexpressing CLDNs can be successfully targeted via several approaches, including the use of anti-CLDN antibodies as well as the cytolytic enterotoxin from Clostridium perfringens. Further studies are needed to determine the potential systemic toxicity of this approach considering the ubiquitous expression of CLDNs in the body, but CLDN-targeted therapeutics appear to have promise in the treatment of cancer.

Scientific Context

This section shows information related to the publication - computed using the fingerprint of the publication - including related publications, related experts and related grants with fingerprints representing significant amounts of overlap between their fingerprint and this publication. The red dots indicate whether those experts or terms appear within the publication, thereby showing potential and actual connections.