J Cancer 2023; 14(12):2344-2358. doi:10.7150/jca.86531 This issue Cite
Review
1. Graduate School, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, 301617, P.R. China.
2. Department of Pathology, Tianjin Union Medical Center, Tianjin, 300071, P.R. China.
3. Nankai University School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, P.R. China.
4. Graduate School, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300070, P.R. China.
# These authors equally contribute to the paper.
Cathepsin B (CTSB), a lysosomal cysteine protease, plays an important role in human physiology and pathology. CTSB is associated with various human diseases, and its expression level and activity are closely related to disease progression and severity. Physiologically, CTSB is integrated into almost all lysosome-related processes, including protein turnover, degradation, and lysosome-mediated cell death. CTSB can lead to the development of various pathological processes through degradation and remodeling of the extracellular matrix. During tumor development and progression, CTSB has two opposing effects. Its pro-apoptotic properties reduce malignancy, while its proteolytic enzymatic activity promotes invasion and metastasis, thereby inducing malignancy. Here, we discuss the roles of CTSB in tumor and non-tumor disease pathophysiologies. We conclude that targeting the activity or expression of CTSB may be important for treating tumor and non-tumor diseases.
Keywords: Cathepsin B, extracellular matrix, cell death, tumor microenvironment, epithelial-mesenchymal transition