The Biological Function and Clinical Utilization of CD147 in Human Diseases: A Review of the Current Scientific Literature

Abstract

CD147 or EMMPRIN is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily in humans. It is widely expressed in human tumors and plays a central role in the progression of many cancers by stimulating the secretion of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and cytokines. CD147 regulates cell proliferation, apoptosis, and tumor cell migration, metastasis and differentiation, especially under hypoxic conditions. CD147 is also important to many organ systems. This review will provide a detailed overview of the discovery, characterization, molecular structure, diverse biological functions and regulatory mechanisms of CD147 in human physiological and pathological processes. In particular, recent studies have demonstrated the potential application of CD147 not only as a phenotypic marker of activated regulatory T cells but also as a potential diagnostic marker for early-stage disease. Moreover, CD147 is recognized as an effective therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and other cancers, and exciting clinical progress has been made in HCC treatment using CD147-directed monoclonal antibodies.

Identification of Cell Surface Straight Chain Poly-N-Acetyl-Lactosamine Bearing Protein Ligands for VH4-34–Encoded Natural IgM Antibodies

“…Moreover, knockdown of CD147 and CD98 with siRNA by electroporation had an antiproliferative effect and use of lipid-based transfection reagents, such as DMRIE-C or oligofectamine, yielded low transfection efficiency in suspension nonadherent B cell lines (data not shown). The antiproliferative effect of CD147 knockdown has been previously reported and reviewed (64,65). In addition, the m.w.…”

Tumour-associated circulating microparticles: a novel liquid biopsy tool for screening and therapy monitoring of colorectal carcinoma and other epithelial neoplasia

“…+ taMP and CD147 + EpCAM -MPs were at day 7 post-OP in median not differing compared to respective pre-OP values ( Figure 4C-4D). We speculate that CD147 + EpCAM − MPs were shed from fibroblast, T-cells, stroma cells, epithelial cells during tumour resection indicating tissue remodelling, migration and cancer cell invasion in which EMMPRIN/CD147 might play role as suggested by others [7,20,21].Taken together, in vivo cancer cells shed distinct taMP populations with a unique pan-cancer MPs-based signature. Even if each tumour is composed of a mixture of heterogeneous tumour cells, the released EpCAM + and EpCAM + CD147 + taMPs can be reliable detected in the circulation in both primary and metastatic tumour-bearing patients ( Figure 4E).…”

“…+ taMP and CD147 + EpCAM -MPs were at day 7 post-OP in median not differing compared to respective pre-OP values ( Figure 4C-4D). We speculate that CD147 + EpCAM − MPs were shed from fibroblast, T-cells, stroma cells, epithelial cells during tumour resection indicating tissue remodelling, migration and cancer cell invasion in which EMMPRIN/CD147 might play role as suggested by others [7,20,21].…”

Effect of specific silencing of EMMPRIN on the growth and cell cycle distribution of MCF-7 breast cancer cells

“…EMMPRIN mainly participates in the adhesion between cells or ground substances in a pathological state, such as in a malignant tumor. In vitro studies showed that EMMPRIN from tumor cells can stimulate human fibroblasts and endotheliocyte to secrete MMP and thus participate in the destruction of the natural tissue mechanical barrier to help tumor cell invasion and diffusion (Xiong et al, 2014).…”