Abstract
Originally termed as the "spreading factor", hyaluronidases (HAases) are present in a variety of toxins and venoms. For example, HAase is the virulent factor of β-hemolytic Streptococci and it is also present in the venoms of snake, bee, wasp, scorpion, etc, where it aids in the spread of these venoms in the body. In mammals, testicular HAase present in the sperm acrosome is necessary for the fertilization of the ovum. Despite a lot of work on bacterial, invertebrate and testicular HAases, a connection between HAase and cancer was unequivocally established just over a decade ago and the functional significance of HAases in cancer was demonstrated just about a year ago. In this part of the review, we will focus on the recent advances in our understanding of the role of HAases in cancer.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 281-287 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Seminars in Cancer Biology |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2008 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Angiogenesis
- Cancer diagnosis
- Cancer prognosis
- Hyaluronic acid
- Hyaluronidase
- Infiltration
- Tumor growth
- Tumor promoter
- Tumor suppressor
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cancer Research