Melanoma differentiation-associated gene-9 (MDA-9)/Syntenin is a novel therapeutic target because it plays critical roles in cancer progression and exosome biogenesis.
Melanoma differentiation associated gene-9 (MDA-9), also known as syntenin, is a novel gene that positively regulates cancer cell motility, invasion, and metastasis through distinct biochemical and signaling pathways, but how MDA-9/syntenin is regulated in response to signals with the extracellular environment and promotes tumor progression is unclear.
These findings underscore PDZ domains of MDA-9/syntenin as promising potential therapeutic targets for intervening in a decisive component of cancer progression, namely, metastatic tumor spread.
The present review provides a current perspective of our understanding of this important aspect of mda-9/syntenin, suggesting that this gene and its encoded protein and interacting protein partners may provide viable targets for intervening in the final and invariably the most lethal stage of cancer progression, namely, cancer metastasis.
Mda-9, also known as syntenin, is a PDZ-domain protein overexpressed in many types of human cancers, where it is believed to function in tumor progression.