The c-Met signaling pathway: a promising cancer therapeutic target

摘要

As a unique member of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family, c-Met has been shown to be overexpressed and/or mutated in a wide variety of human malignancies, including carcinomas of the breast, cervical, liver, lung, ovary, kidney, thyroid, etc. Extensive evidence has indicated that c-Met activation can induce diverse cellular responses such as proliferation, scattering, angiogenesis, cell motility, invasion, and eventual metastasis. Along with biological functions, stimulation of c-Met drives numerous signaling pathways. Therefore, c-Met represents an intriguing target for cancer therapeutics which has already shown promising achievement in the clinical setting. The discovery of c-Met receptor-targeted drugs has promoted clinically related cancer's diagnosis and treatment. In this mini review, we summarize the unique characteristics of c-Met and its ligand hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) structure, signaling, and mutational activation, and then discuss the progress in the development of agents targeting the c-Met pathway.