Characterization of LIMA1 and its emerging roles and potential therapeutic prospects in cancers

Xiaoxiao Wang; Chao Zhang; Huangqin Song; Junlong Yuan; Xiaomin Zhang; Yiran Yuan; Lei Zhang; Jiefeng He

doi:10.3389/fonc.2023.1115943

Characterization of LIMA1 and its emerging roles and potential therapeutic prospects in cancers

Front Oncol. 2023 May 19:13:1115943. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1115943. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xiaoxiao Wang¹, Chao Zhang¹, Huangqin Song¹, Junlong Yuan¹, Xiaomin Zhang¹, Yiran Yuan¹, Lei Zhang^{2

3}, Jiefeng He^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Taiyuan, China.
² Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
³ Hepatic Surgery Center, Institute of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

Abstract

Actin is the most abundant and highly conserved cytoskeletal protein present in all eukaryotic cells. Remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton is controlled by a variety of actin-binding proteins that are extensively involved in biological processes such as cell motility and maintenance of cell shape. LIM domain and actin-binding protein 1 (LIMA1), as an important actin cytoskeletal regulator, was initially thought to be a tumor suppressor frequently downregulated in epithelial tumors. Importantly, the deficiency of LIMA1 may be responsible for dysregulated cytoskeletal dynamics, altered cell motility and disrupted cell-cell adhesion, which promote tumor proliferation, invasion and migration. As research progresses, the roles of LIMA1 extend from cytoskeletal dynamics and cell motility to cell division, gene regulation, apical extrusion, angiogenesis, cellular metabolism and lipid metabolism. However, the expression of LIMA1 in malignant tumors and its mechanism of action have not yet been elucidated, and many problems and challenges remain to be addressed. Therefore, this review systematically describes the structure and biological functions of LIMA1 and explores its expression and regulatory mechanism in malignant tumors, and further discusses its clinical value and therapeutic prospects.

Keywords: EMT; LIMA1; actin cytoskeleton; angiogenesis; cancer progression; cells migration and metastatic.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This article was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 82073090), Human Resources and Social Security Department System of Shanxi Province (Grant No. 20210001), Research Project Supported by Shanxi Scholarship Council of China (Grant No. 2021-116), Shanxi ‘136’ Leading Clinical Key Specialty (Grant No. 2019XY002), and Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases (under construction).