AUTHOR=Xu Jing , Huang Yan , Zhao Jimeng , Wu Luyi , Qi Qin , Liu Yanan , Li Guona , Li Jing , Liu Huirong , Wu Huangan TITLE=Cofilin: A Promising Protein Implicated in Cancer Metastasis and Apoptosis JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology VOLUME=9 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2021.599065 DOI=10.3389/fcell.2021.599065 ISSN=2296-634X ABSTRACT=

Cofilin is an actin-binding protein that regulates filament dynamics and depolymerization. The over-expression of cofilin is observed in various cancers, cofilin promotes cancer metastasis by regulating cytoskeletal reorganization, lamellipodium formation and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Clinical treatment of cancer regarding cofilin has been explored in aspects of tumor cells apoptosis and cofilin related miRNAs. This review addresses the structure and phosphorylation of cofilin and describes recent findings regarding the function of cofilin in regulating cancer metastasis and apoptosis in tumor cells.