The multifaceted role of periostin in tumorigenesis

Abstract

Periostin, also called osteoblast-specific factor 2 (OSF-2), is a member of the fasciclin family and a disulfide-linked cell adhesion protein that has been shown to be expressed preferentially in the periosteum and periodontal ligaments, where it acts as a critical regulator of bone and tooth formation and maintenance. Furthermore, periostin plays an important role in cardiac development. Recent clinical evidence has also revealed that periostin is involved in the development of various tumors, such as breast, lung, colon, pancreatic, and ovarian cancers. Periostin interacts with multiple cell-surface receptors, most notably integrins, and signals mainly via the PI3-K/Akt and other pathways to promote cancer cell survival, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion, and metastasis. In this review, aspects related to the function of periostin in tumorigenesis are summarized.

Regulation of beta catenin signaling and parathyroid hormone anabolic effects in bone by the matricellular protein periostin

“…At that time we did speculate that the mechanotransduction properties of bone could be impaired because of an alteration of the bone matrix quality, or alternatively, that Postn could directly regulate Sost. The present work demonstrates that Postn directly inhibits Sost expression through its integrin αVβ3 receptor (26,27). However, in UMR-106 cells, about half of Sost inhibition by PTH appeared independent of Postn.…”

Expression Profiling after Induction of Demethylation in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells Identifies Involvement of TNF-α Mediated Cancer Pathways

“…Significantly downregulated cancerrelevant genes included POSTN (3.0-fold decrease in both 5 and 10 μM Aza treated cells) and NOTCH4 (3.0-fold decrease in 5 μM Aza treated cells and 5.0-fold decrease in 10 μM Aza treated cells). POSTN has been shown to be overexpressed in breast cancer and is included in pathways to promote cancer cell survival, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion, and metastasis (Ruan et al, 2009). Expression of NOTCH4 was found to lead to tumor formation in mammary glands (Politi et al, 2004) and its signaling was shown to be induced by TNF (Ando et al, 2003).…”

The role of periostin in neoplastic processes

“…Human POSTN is encoded by a gene POSTN located on the 13 chromosome (13q13.3), while in mice it is located on chromosome 3 [2,7,9]. Analysis of the sequence shows a high degree of conservation between the species: human and murine POSTN have 89.2% identity for the entire protein molecule, and 90.1% identity for the mature form.…”

“…Analysis of the sequence shows a high degree of conservation between the species: human and murine POSTN have 89.2% identity for the entire protein molecule, and 90.1% identity for the mature form. In turn, the C-terminal region of the protein is less conserved at 85.5% [1,2,9]. The POSTN gene in humans and mice has 23 exons [2,9].…”