Prognostic and predictive role of calreticulin, key component of immunogenic cell death, in cancer biology
Abstract
Cancer cell death can be perceived as nonimmmunogenic or immunogenic, depending on the initiating stimulus. Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is characterized by emission of the so-called damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs).
Calreticulin (CRT) exposure represents the major checkpoint determining the immunogenicity of cell death as documented by numerous preclinical in vitro and invivo mice studies. Preapoptotic translocation of CRT from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the cell surface is a result of an ER stress response.
Moreover, recent studies have identified CRT exposure on malignant cells not only as a marker of ICD and active anti-tumor immune response but also as a crucial predictor of prognosis in various cancer malignancies. This suggests that a subgroup of cancer patients is associated with a strong constitutive ER stress response that leads to CRT exposure.
Here, we conclude the recent evidences demonstrating that CRT expression represents a novel prognostic biomarker in different cancer malignancies, facilitating the activation of tumor immunosurveillance.