Serine/arginine protein kinase 1 (SRPK1); a versatile functional moonlighting protein involved in varied cellular activities comprised of cell cycle progression, innate immune response, chromatin reorganization, negative and positive regulation of viral genome replication, protein amino acid phosphorylation, regulation of numerous mRNA-processing pathways, germ cell development as well as inflammation due to acquaintances with many transcription factors and signaling pathways. Several diseases including cancer have been associated with dysregulation of SRPK1. The function of SRPK1 in cancer is contradictory and inexplicable because it acts as both tumor suppressor and promoter based on the type of cell and locale. Over expression of SRPK1 including its role has been recently narrated and associated with several cancers, which includes, lung, glioma, prostate and breast via dysregulated signals from the Akt/eIF4E/HIF-1/VEGF, Erk or MAPK, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, TGF-β, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways. Therefore, SRPK1 has occurred as a promising and possible curative target in cancer. In recent years, few natural and synthetic SRPK1 inhibitors have been discovered. This review emphasizes and highlights the complicated connections between SRPK1 and oncogenic signaling circuits together with the possibility of aiming SRPK1 in the treatment of cancer.
Keywords: Cancer; Moonlighting proteins; Oncogenic signaling; SRPK1; Targeted therapy.