Olfactomedin 4 in cancer development and progression

Abstract

Olfactomedin 4 (OLFM4) is endogenously expressed in several normal human tissues and exerts its biological functions through its diverse binding partners on both the cell surface and intracellularly. OLFM4 is involved in multiple cellular functions, such as proliferation, apoptosis, and adhesion. OLFM4 is also a target gene in several important inflammation- and cancer-related pathways, and OLFM4 plays important roles in both infectious and inflammatory diseases and a variety of cancers. Studies of OLFM4 expression and function in cancer development and progression in numerous cancers indicate that OLFM4 exerts tumor-suppressing or tumor-promoting effects depending on the tissue and cellular context, and that OLFM4 is aberrantly expressed and functionally involved in multiple human cancers through different mechanisms. In cancers where OLFM4 is upregulated or plays a tumor-promoting role, therapies designed to inhibit OLFM4 expression may be clinically beneficial. OLFM4 could also have utility as a biomarker for early detection and diagnosis of precancerous states in several human cancers.