Open AccessMetabotropic glutamate receptors and cancerous growth
Author(s) -
Teh Jessica,
Chen Suzie
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: membrane transport and signaling
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2190-4618
pISSN - 2190-460X
DOI - 10.1002/wmts.21
Subject(s) - metabotropic glutamate receptor , druggability , neuroscience , metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 , g protein coupled receptor , biology , metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 , metabotropic glutamate receptor 6 , computational biology , glutamate receptor , receptor , bioinformatics , signal transduction , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , genetics
G‐protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent a class of therapeutic targets that have been widely exploited for drug designs and development. Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) belong to Class C GPCRs and are predominantly involved in maintaining cellular homeostasis in the central nervous system (CNS). The surprising accumulating evidence suggesting other functional roles of mGluRs in human malignancies in addition to synaptic transmission has presented intriguing possibilities to make mGluRs putative novel targets for human cancers. Since our group first described the aberrant expression of mGluR1 as the driving force in melanomagenesis in transgenic mouse models, other subtypes of mGluRs have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various cancer types such as malignant gliomas and medulloblastomas. As such, increased efforts have been generated to elucidate the mechanisms by which mGluRs confer oncogenic potential. Current knowledge on the participation of various mGluRs in several human cancers suggests that mGluRs are ‘druggable’ members of the GPCR superfamily and their oncogenic implications in cancer, so further understanding on anti‐mGluR strategies will be beneficial. WIREs Membr Transp Signal 2012, 1:211–220. doi: 10.1002/wmts.21 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website .