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Because of its impact on multiple biological pathways, heparanase has emerged as a major regulator of cancer, inflammation and other disease processes. Heparanase accomplishes this by degrading heparan sulfate which regulates the abundance and location of heparin-binding growth factors thereby influencing multiple signaling pathways that control gene expression, syndecan shedding and cell behavior. In addition, heparanase can act via nonenzymatic mechanisms that directly activate signaling at the cell surface. Clinical trials testing heparanase inhibitors as anticancer therapeutics are showing early signs of efficacy in patients further emphasizing the biological importance of this enzyme. This review focuses on recent developments in the field of heparanase regulation of cancer and inflammation, including the impact of heparanase on exosomes and autophagy, and novel mechanisms whereby heparanase regulates tumor metastasis, angiogenesis and chemoresistance. In addition, the ongoing development of heparanase inhibitors and their potential for treating cancer and inflammation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma, a malignant brain cancer, is characterized by abnormal activation of receptor tyrosine kinase signalling pathways and a poor prognosis. Extracellular proteoglycans, including heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate, play critical roles in the regulation of cell signalling and migration via interactions with extracellular ligands, growth factor receptors and extracellular matrix components, as well as intracellular enzymes and structural proteins. In cancer, proteoglycans help drive multiple oncogenic pathways in tumour cells and promote critical tumour-microenvironment interactions. In the present review, we summarize the evidence for proteoglycan function in gliomagenesis and examine the expression of proteoglycans and their modifying enzymes in human glioblastoma using data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (http://cancergenome.nih.gov/). Furthermore, we demonstrate an association between specific proteoglycan alterations and changes in receptor tyrosine kinases. Based on these data, we propose a model in which proteoglycans and their modifying enzymes promote receptor tyrosine kinase signalling and progression in glioblastoma, and we suggest that cancer-associated proteoglycans are promising biomarkers for disease and therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of the fibroblast growth factor ( FGF)- FGF receptor ( FGFR) signalling system has closely followed that of multicellular organisms. The abilities of nine FGFs ( FGF-1 to FGF-9; examples of FGF subfamilies 1, 4, 7, 8, and 9) and seven FGFRs or isoforms ( FGFR1b, FGFR1c, FGFR2b, FGFR2c, FGFR3b, FGFR3c, and FGFR4) to support signalling in the presence of heparin, a proxy for the cellular heparan sulfate coreceptor, were assembled into a network. A connection between two FGFRs was defined as their mutual ability to signal with a particular FGF. The network contained a core of four receptors ( FGFR1c, FGFR2c, FGFR3c, and FGFR4) with complete connectivity and high redundancy. Analysis of the wider network indicated that neither FGF-3 nor FGF-7 was well connected to this core of four receptors, and that divergence of a precursor of FGF subgroups 1, 4 and 9 from FGF subgroup 8 may have allowed expansion from a three-member FGFR core signalling system to the four-member core network. This increases by four-fold the number of possible signalling combinations. Synchrotron radiation CD spectra of the FGFs with heparin revealed no overall common structural change, suggesting the existence of distinct heparin-binding sites throughout the FGFs. The approach provides a potential method of identifying agents capable of influencing particular FGF- FGFR combinations, or areas of the signalling network, for experimental or therapeutic purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein tyrosine phosphatases ( PTPs) represent a super-family of enzymes that play essential roles in normal development and physiology. In this review, we will discuss the PTPs that have a causative role in hereditary diseases in humans. In addition, recent progress in the development and analysis of animal models expressing mutant PTPs will be presented. The impact of PTP signaling on health and disease will be exemplified for the fields of bone development, synaptogenesis and central nervous system diseases. Collectively, research on PTPs since the late 1980's yielded the cogent view that development of PTP-directed therapeutic tools is essential to further combat human disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]