CSF Family
The colony-stimulating factor (CSF) family comprises soluble glycoproteins that govern the survival, proliferation and lineage-specific differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors while activating mature blood cells.
Acetyl-Histone
Lysine acetylation is a reversible post-translational modification that plays a crucial role in regulating protein function, chromatin structure, and gene expression[1]. Many transcriptional coactivators possess intrinsic acetyltransferase activity, while transcriptional corepressors are associated with deacetylase activity[2]. In response to signaling pathways, acetylation complexes (such as CBP/p300 and PCAF) or deacetylation complexes (such as Sin3, NuRD, NCoR, and SMRT) assemble to bind to DNA-bound transcription factors (TFs).
VEGF Family
The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family comprises five secreted homodimeric glycoproteins—VEGF-A, VEGF-B, VEGF-C, VEGF-D and placental growth factor (PlGF)—that selectively bind to VEGFR-1, -2, -3 and the co-receptors neuropilin-1/2, thereby orchestrating angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis and vascular permeability.
TGF Family
The Transforming Growth Factor (TGF) family comprises a group of structurally related cytokines, including TGF-βs, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), activins, and inhibins, which play essential roles in embryogenesis, immune regulation, tissue repair, and fibrosis. These proteins signal through heteromeric complexes of type I and type II serine/threonine kinase receptors, leading to the activation of Smad-dependent intracellular pathways.
Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase 1 and 2
Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase 1 and 2 Acetyl-CoA carboxylases (ACCs) are enzymes that catalyze the carboxylation of acetyl-CoA to produce malonyl-CoA1. In mammals, ACC1 and ACC2 are two members of ACCs. ACC1 localizes in the cytosol and acts as the first and rate-limiting enzyme in the de novo fatty acid synthesis pathway2. ACC2 localizes on the outer membrane of mitochondria and produces malonyl-CoA to regulate the activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1) that involves in the β-oxidation of fatty acid. Fatty acid synthesis is central in a myriad of physiological and pathological conditions3.
FGF Family
The Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) family comprises a group of structurally related signaling proteins that play crucial roles in embryonic development, cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, angiogenesis, tissue repair, and metabolic regulation. In humans, the FGF family includes 18 canonical members (FGF1–FGF10 and FGF16–FGF23), which are classified into six subfamilies based on sequence homology and functional characteristics.
Interleukin (IL) Family
The Interleukin (IL) family consists of small, soluble proteins secreted by a variety of cells, including immune cells like macrophages, T and B lymphocytes, as well as endothelial and fibroblastic cells. These cytokines play essential roles in immune regulation, inflammatory responses, hematopoiesis, and tissue repair.
Esophageal Cancer
The evolution of esophageal cancer is a complex, multi-stage and multi-factorial process, involving the gradual transformation from normal cells to cancer cells. The following is a summary of the evolution of esophageal cancer based on the latest research and clinical observations:
The 14-3-3 family of proteins
The 14-3-3 family of proteins are highly conserved acidic eukaryotic proteins (25–32 kDa) abundantly present in the body. There are seven different 14-3-3 isoforms in mammals, namely the α/β, σ, θ, γ, ε, η and ζ/δ, each of them binding to several hundreds of different proteins through phosphorylation. It was found to modulate a wide array of cellular processes, such as cell signalling, transcription, cell differentiation, cell apoptosis, protein trafficking, innate immunity, and glucose metabolism, to name a few . Its dysregulation has been linked to the onset of critical illnesses such as cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and viral infections.