Vimentin in cancer and its potential as a molecular target for cancer therapy

Abstract

Vimentin, a major constituent of the intermediate filament (IF) family of proteins, is ubiquitously expressed in normal mesenchymal cells and is known to maintain cellular integrity and provide resistance against stress. Increased vimentin expression has been reported in various epithelial cancers including prostate cancer, gastrointestinal tumors, CNS tumors, breast cancer, malignant melanoma, lung cancer and other types of cancers. Vimentin's over-expression in cancer correlates well with increased tumor growth, invasion and poor prognosis; however, the role of vimentin in cancer progression remains obscure. In the recent years, vimentin has gained much importance as a marker for epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Although EMT is associated with a number of tumorigenic events, the role of vimentin in the underlying events mediating these processes remains unknown. Though majority of the literature findings indicate a future significance of vimentin as a biomarker for different cancers with clinical relevance, more research in to the molecular aspects will be crucial to particularly evaluate the function of vimentin in the process of tumorigenesis. By virtue of its over-expression in a large number of cancers and its role in mediating various tumorigenic events, vimentin serves as an attractive target for cancer therapy. Further, research directed toward elucidating the role of vimentin in various signaling pathways would open up new approaches for the development of promising therapeutic agents. This review summarizes the expression and functions of vimentin in cancers and also suggests some directions toward future cancer therapy utilizing vimentin as a potential target.

Senescent cells expose and secrete an oxidized form of membrane-bound vimentin as revealed by a natural polyreactive antibody

“…Vimentin is characteristically known as a cytosolic protein that plays a major role in intermediate filament assembly and function. Nonetheless, vimentin has also been shown to interact with the nucleus and the membranes of cells (23). Using our IgM clone 9H4, we show that vimentin accumulates on the surface of senescent cells, and we demonstrate that senescence-associated cell-surface vimentin is modified by the oxidative adduct malondialdehyde (MDA).…”

Material‐Driven Fibronectin Assembly Promotes Maintenance of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Phenotypes

“…Figure 5 shows high levels of Sca1 staining for PEA and PMA, a specifi c marker of undifferentiated murine mesenchymal cells. [ 32,33 ] These results suggest that FN-coated PEA and PMA promote maintenance of stemness rather than lineage commitment in the absence of soluble factors in media. Next, we evaluated their ability to sustain MSCs differentiation under defi ned media conditions and also the self-renewal maintenance in longer-term cultures.…”

Vimentin Intermediate Filaments Template Microtubule Networks to Enhance Persistence in Cell Polarity and Directed Migration

“…Following tissue injury and during epithelial to mesenchymal transitions (EMT), vimentin is strongly up-regulated (Mendez et al, 2010). In epithelial cancers, the onset of vimentin expression is a clinical marker for poor prognosis and increased metastasis (Dauphin et al, 2013;Havel et al, 2014;Kidd et al, 2014;Satelli and Li, 2011). Intriguingly, during EMT, when vimentin expression is systematically upregulated, cells transform from a state, in which polarity is primarily defined by tissue context to a state where polarity must be defined at the level of individual cells.…”