AUTHOR=Tanimoto Ryuta , Lu Kuojung G. , Xu Shi-Qiong , Buraschi Simone , Belfiore Antonino , Iozzo Renato V. , Morrione Andrea 

TITLE=Mechanisms of Progranulin Action and Regulation in Genitourinary Cancers

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2016.00100

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2016.00100

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p>The growth factor progranulin has emerged in recent years as a critical regulator of transformation in several cancer models, including breast cancer, glioblastomas, leukemias, and hepatocellular carcinomas. Several laboratories, including ours, have also demonstrated an important role of progranulin in several genitourinary cancers, including ovarian, endometrial, cervical, prostate, and bladder tumors, where progranulin acts as an autocrine growth factor thereby modulating motility and invasion of transformed cells. In this review, we will focus on the mechanisms of action and regulation of progranulin signaling in genitourinary cancers with a special emphasis on prostate and bladder tumors.</p>