The Role of Glypican-1 in Regulating Multiple Cellular Signaling Pathways.

By Jiajia Pan, Mitchell Ho. 2021

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Glypican-1 (GPC1) is one of the six glypican family members in humans. It is composed of a core protein with three heparan sulfate chains, and attached to the cell membrane by a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol anchor. GPC1 modulates various signaling pathways including FGF, VEGF-A, TGF-β, Wnt, Hh, and BMP through specific interactions with pathway ligands and receptors. The impact of these interactions on signaling pathways, activating or inhibitory, is dependent upon specific GPC1 domain interaction with pathway components as well as cell surface context. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the structure of GPC1, as well as its role in regulating multiple signaling pathways. We focus on the functions of GPC1 in cancer cells and how new insights into these signaling processes can inform its translational potential as a therapeutic target in cancer.

Subfields: Cell Biology, Molecular Biology