Oncotarget (a primarily oncology-focused, peer-reviewed, open access journal) aims to maximize research impact through insightful peer-review; eliminate borders between specialties by linking different fields of oncology, cancer research and biomedical sciences; and foster application of basic and clinical science.
Its scope is unique. The term "oncotarget" encompasses all molecules, pathways, cellular functions, cell types, and even tissues that can be viewed as targets relevant to cancer as well as other diseases. The term was introduced in the inaugural Editorial, Introducing Oncotarget.
As of January 1, 2022, Oncotarget has shifted to a continuous publishing model. Papers will now be published continuously within yearly volumes in their final and complete form and then quickly released to Pubmed.
Publication Alerts
Subscribe to receive alerts once a paper has been published by Oncotarget.
On December 23, 2022, Oncotarget server experienced a DDoS attack. As a result, Oncotarget site was inaccessible for a few hours. Oncotarget team swiftly dealt with the situation and took it under control.
This malicious action will be reported to the FBI.
In this new editorial, researchers Zhaoshan Liu, Swati Choksi and Zheng-Gang Liu from the National Institutes of Health’sNational Cancer Institute discuss cell death—which can happen as finely regulated programmed cell death (PCD) or non-regulated accidental cell death (necrosis). In addition to apoptosis, which is the first known PCD, several other forms of PCD such as necroptosis and ferroptosis have been identified and the underlying mechanisms of these forms of cell death have been well studied.
For necroptosis, a regulated necrotic cell death, Mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL) was found to be the key executor of the death process and its oligomerization and translocation to the plasma membrane results in the shedding of cell surface proteins and the rupture of the cell plasma membrane of necroptotic cells. The role of the different forms of PCD in tumorigenesis has been extensively investigated.
While apoptosis and ferroptosis inhibit tumor progression, necroptosis seems to have a promoting role in tumor progression. The researchers here recently found that necroptosis is the main form of cell death observed in tumor necrosis, the foci of cell death in core regions of solid tumors under hypoxia and nutrient deprivation. More importantly, they found that blocking necroptosis leads to the inhibition of metastasis in mouse breast cancer models.
“Developing novel necroptosis inhibitor[s] by targeting other proteins such as MLKL may be critical for successfully blocking necroptosis in cancer and mitigating metastasis.”
Keywords: necroptosis, breast cancer, metastasis, E-cadherin, immunity
About Oncotarget: Oncotarget (a primarily oncology-focused, peer-reviewed, open access journal) aims to maximize research impact through insightful peer-review; eliminate borders between specialties by linking different fields of oncology, cancer research and biomedical sciences; and foster application of basic and clinical science.
To learn more about Oncotarget, visit Oncotarget.com and connect with us on social media:
