Open AccessNicotinamide N-methyltransferase as a potential marker for cancer
Author(s) -
Xiangdong Lu,
Heng Long
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
neoplasma
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1338-4317
pISSN - 0028-2685
DOI - 10.4149/neo_2018_171024n680
Subject(s) - nicotinamide , nad+ kinase , cancer , methyltransferase , cancer research , cofactor , niacinamide , enzyme , intracellular , cytosol , chemistry , nicotinamide mononucleotide , methylation , biology , biochemistry , bioinformatics , nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide , genetics , gene
Cancer is the main leading cause of death in the world, although it has been made noteworthy advances in cancer research in the past decades. Early detection of cancer is extremely important in improving the chances of successful therapy. Thus, it is urgently needed to make further efforts to explore novel tumor markers for treatment. Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) is a cytosolic enzyme which catalyzes the N-methylation of nicotinamide to form 1-methylnicotinamide (1-MNA), and plays an important role in controlling the intracellular concentration of nicotinamide. Nicotinamide, the precursor to NAD+, is an important cofactor that associates cellular redox states with energy metabolism. Growing evidence shows that NNMT protein levels are elevated in a variety of human cancers, and increased NNMT expression has been linked to tumor aggressiveness. This paper presents a review for the role of NNMT expressed in a series of human cancers and the regulating mechanism involved, and offers its potential value of NNMT in cancer detection and treatment.