Table. 1.

Table 1 Biological functions and therapeutic approaches of EMP2 in diverse cancers

Cancer type	Tumor suppressive/ oncogenic role	Biological functions/ Therapeutics	Ref.
B-cell lymphoma	Tumor suppressive	Overexpression of EMP2 reduced the tumorigenic potential of MV cells by promoting cell death.	Wang et al., 2001
Lung cancer	Tumor suppressive	Downregulation of EMP2 was involved in ERK and JNK activation and a decrease in PP2A expression, suggesting that EMP2 plays a pivotal role in modifying cellular characteristics.	Lee et al., 2016
	Tumor suppressive	Overexpression of EMP2 reduced tumor cell growth, proliferation, migration, and invasion by suppressing the MAPK pathway.	Ma et al., 2021
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma	Tumor suppressive	Loss of EMP2 expression was prevalent and linked to unfavorable DSS and LRFS, potentially contributing to increased tumor aggressiveness.	Chen et al., 2012
Urothelial carcinoma	Tumor suppressive	Overexpression of EMP2 stimulated apoptosis and reduced migration by altering the expression of integrin β3 and αV.	Wang et al., 2013
Gallbladder cancer	Tumor suppressive	Downregulation of EMP2 was observed in advanced tumors and was linked to poor survival in GBC.	Li et al., 2013
Melanoma	Tumor suppressive	EMP2 expression was negatively associated with mTOR-mediated autophagy, as determined by GSEA.	Wang et al., 2019
	Oncogenic	EMP2 overexpression promoted the activation of melanogenesis, as well as increase invasion and migration.	Enkhtaivan et al., 2022
Endometrial cancer	Oncogenic	EMP2 expression was associate with tumor progression and poor prognosis.	Wadehra et al., 2006
	Oncogenic	EMP2 diabodies induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner and demonstrated a synergistic effect in combination with progesterone.	Shimazaki et al., 2008
	Oncogenic	Co-localization of EMP2 and FAK facilitated tumor progression and migration.	Fu et al., 2011
	Oncogenic	High levels of EMP2 promoted tumor migration and angiogenesis by modulating VEGF. Furthermore, treatment of EMP2 IgG improved survival rates in mouse models.	Gordon et al., 2013
Ovarian cancer	Oncogenic	Tissue microarray analysis of 129 ovarian samples revealed elevated EMP2 levels in malignant tissues, and EMP2 diabodies effectively reduced tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model, suggesting that EMP2 could be a promising therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.	Fu et al., 2010
Glioblastoma	Oncogenic	Increased EMP2 expression enhanced migration by regulating αVβ3 integrin on the cell surface. Besides, treatment with anti-EMP2 IgG1 resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in cell invasion.	Qin et al., 2014
	Oncogenic	Ant-EMP2 IgG1 blocked EMP2-mediated migration and angiogenesis in GBM by suppressing VEGF-A expression.	Qin et al., 2017
	Oncogenic	High EMP2 expression was associated with Ki-67 positivity and poor survival outcomes in patient samples, suggesting that EMP2 may be a valuable diagnostic and prognostic marker for GBM.	Chung et al., 2018
	Oncogenic	An immunohistological study of 110 patients with GBM demonstrated a further increase in EMP2 expression in patient samples following bevacizumab therapy.	Patel et al., 2020b
Meningioma	Oncogenic	Elevated EMP2 expression enhanced tumor angiogenesis in meningioma.	Patel et al., 2020a
Glioma	Oncogenic	miR-129-5P directly targets EMP2, promoting the migration and invasion of glioma cells by regulating EMT.	Xia et al., 2022
Breast cancer	Oncogenic	In HER2-positive breast tumors, high expression of EMP2 was identified and increased carcinoma invasiveness and lymph node metastasis. Treatment with anti-EMP2 antibodies significantly reduced tumor growth by inhibiting Src phosphorylation.	Fu et al., 2014
	Oncogenic	The correlation between EMP2 and β1 integrin was increased in breast cancer, particularly ER+ PR+ luminal types.	El-Ghlban et al., 2020
	Oncogenic	EMP2 regulated cancer stem cell (CSC) markers, such as CD44, and was correlated with increased ALDH1 in metastatic tumors. Treatment with an anti-EMP2 monoclonal antibody reduced the proportion of BCSCs, consequently inhibiting tumor initiation, growth, and metastasis.	Dillard et al., 2020
	Oncogenic	High levels of EMP2 expression were detected in breast cancer patients, especially following chemotherapy with taxane. An anti-EMP2 monoclonal antibody was shown to improve taxane-resistance in an orthotopic mouse model.	Chan et al., 2024

Biomolecules & Therapeutics 2024;32:697~707 https://doi.org/10.4062/biomolther.2024.168

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