Research Status and Development of Adherens Junction Associated Protein-1 in Gliomas

Adherens junction associated protein-1(AJAP1), also known as SHREW1, is initially discovered as a novel transmembrane protein of adherent junctions in epithelial cells. From a broad range of human cancers research, 1p36 has been a mutational hotspot which strongly suggests that the loss of tumor suppressor activity maps to this genomic region during tumorigenesis. Glioma is the most common primary central nervous system tumor. Many studies have shown that the deletion of AJAP1 has an important relationship with the development of glioma. In gliomas, AJAP1 may be translocated to the nucleus, via its interaction with β-catenin complexes, where it can regulate gene transcription, therefore having a potent impact on cell cycle and apoptosis; AJAP1 changes the structure of cytoskeleton and the polarity of cell to inhibit cell adhesion and migration. AJAP1 may be associated with the development, proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and clinical outcome of glioma, it may serve as a promising tumor suppressor-related target. However, the correlation between AJAP1 and gliomas remains unclear. In this paper, the research status and development of AJAP1 in gliomas were reviewed.