Table of Contents
- 1 Why is folate receptor overexpressed on cancer cells?
- 2 What cells express folate receptors?
- 3 What receptors do cancer cells have?
- 4 Where are folate receptors located?
- 5 What is folate biology?
- 6 Why do cells become cancer cells?
- 7 What is the mechanism of action of folic acid?
- 8 How is folate absorbed in the body?
Why is folate receptor overexpressed on cancer cells?
1 Targeting particular biomarkers that are overexpressed specifically on tumour cells enables the selective delivery of cytotoxic cargo to cancerous tissue, thereby minimising toxic side effects in the patient and increasing the therapeutic index.
What cells express folate receptors?
4.5 Folic Acid-Based Targeting. The folate receptor (FR) is highly expressed on the surface of a broad spectrum of solid tumor cells comprising ovarian, kidney, lung, brain, endometrial, colorectal, pancreatic, gastric, prostate, breast, and nonsmall-cell lung cancers (Yi, 2016).
What does folate receptor do?
Folate receptors bind folate and reduced folic acid derivatives and mediates delivery of tetrahydrofolate to the interior of cells. It is then converted from monoglutamate to polyglutamate forms – such as 5- methyltetrahydrofolate – as only monoglutamate forms can be transported across cell membranes.
What receptors do cancer cells have?
Every tumor cell is equipped with an array of biologically active surface molecules, and several of these function as receptors for various ligands. They include MHC, or in the case of humans, HLA antigens, cytokine receptors, cell-adhesion molecules, growth factor receptors, Fas/Fas-ligand molecules and others.
Where are folate receptors located?
Folate receptors (FR) are expressed in epithelial cancers such as breast, cervical, colorectal, renal, nasopharyngeal, ovarian, and endometrial.
What elements make up folic acid?
Folic acid (pteroylglutamic acid) is composed of three large sub-components. These are the pteridine ring, para-amino benzoic acid, and glutamic acid.
What is folate biology?
(FOH-layt) A nutrient in the vitamin B complex that the body needs in small amounts to function and stay healthy. Folate helps to make red blood cells. It is found in whole-grain breads and cereals, liver, green vegetables, orange juice, lentils, beans, and yeast.
Why do cells become cancer cells?
Cancer cells have gene mutations that turn the cell from a normal cell into a cancer cell. These gene mutations may be inherited, develop over time as we get older and genes wear out, or develop if we are around something that damages our genes, like cigarette smoke, alcohol or ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
How is cancer caused in cells?
Cancer is caused by changes (mutations) to the DNA within cells. The DNA inside a cell is packaged into a large number of individual genes, each of which contains a set of instructions telling the cell what functions to perform, as well as how to grow and divide.
What is the mechanism of action of folic acid?
Folate acts as a cofactor for enzymes involved in DNA and RNA biosynthesis. Folate is also involved in the supply of methyl groups to the so-called methylation cycle, which uses methionine and makes homocysteine.
How is folate absorbed in the body?
Folates are absorbed primarily in the duodenum and jejunum within the acid microenvironment at the cell surface.
Why is folate important in DNA synthesis?
Folate functions metabolically as an enzyme cofactor in the synthesis of nucleic acids and amino-acids. Deficiency of the vitamin leads to impaired cell replication and other metabolic alterations, particularly related to methionine synthesis.