Among several known and unknown genes whose expression was modified, osteopontin (OPN), a protein previously associated with tumorigenesis, was found to be upregulated within 6 h following HGF stimulation.
In addition to already known tumor-associated genes, the majority of identified genes have not yet been brought into context with tumorigenesis such as genes involved in bone matrix mineralization (OSN, OPN, and OSF-2) in lung, breast, and kidney cancer or genes controlling Ca(2+) homeostasis (RCN1,CALCA, S100 protein family).
OPN is a target gene for beta-catenin-T cell factor signaling, which is commonly disturbed during mammary oncogenesis, but the understanding of OPN regulation is incomplete.
The large increase in OPN expression in tumors compared with normal tissue and its association with survival suggest a role for OPN in lung tumorigenesis.
Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie regulation of transcription of the human osteopontin encoding gene (OPN) may help to clarify several processes, such as fibrotic evolution of organ damage, tumorigenesis and metastasis, and immune response, in which OPN overexpression is observed.
Osteopontin (OPN) is a glycoprotein of the extracellular matrix, which has been shown to mediate cellular migration and invasion and to contribute to tumorigenesis in several types of cancers.
Downregulated AMN and PTGDR and upregulated osteopontin and osteonectin were found as potential biomarkers of colorectal carcinogenesis and disease progression to be utilized for prospective biopsy screening both at mRNA and protein levels.
Osteopontin (OPN) is a multi-functional cytokine involved in cell survival, migration and adhesion which is associated with tumorigenesis, progression and metastasis.
This relationship remains of relevance to our understanding of carcinogenesis, but further studies are needed to address the physiological and pathological function of OPN in adrenal tissue.
Osteopontin (OPN), a ligand for vß3 integrin and CD44 receptors, is a phosphorylated glycoprotein with diverse functions including tumorigenesis and tumor cell metastasis.
Taken together, these results demonstrate that OPN directly stimulates angiogenesis via the avβ3/PI3-K/AKT/eNOS/NO signaling pathway and may play an important role in tumorigenesis by enhancing angiogenesis in gliomas.
These data suggest that stromal-derived osteopontin impacts tumorigenesis by stimulating preneoplastic cell proliferation thus allowing expansion of initiated cells in early lesions.