KISS1 in breast cancer progression and autophagy

Tumor suppressors are cellular proteins typically expressed in normal (non-cancer) cells that not only regulate such cellular functions as proliferation, migration and adhesion, but can also be secreted into extracellular space and serve as biomarkers for pathological conditions or tumor progression. KISS1, a precursor for several shorter peptides, known as metastin (Kisspeptin-54), Kisspeptin-14, Kisspeptin-13 and Kisspeptin-10, is one of those metastasis suppressor proteins, whose expression is commonly downregulated in the metastatic tumors of various origins. The commonly accepted role of KISS1 in metastatic tumor progression mechanism is the ability of this protein to suppress colonization of disseminated cancer cells in distant organs critical for the formation of the secondary tumor foci. Besides, recent evidence suggests involvement of KISS1 in the mechanisms of tumor angiogenesis, autophagy and apoptosis regulation, suggesting a possible role in both restricting and promoting cancer cell invasion. Here, we discuss the role of KISS1 in regulating metastases, the link between KISS1 expression and the autophagy-related biology of cancer cells and the perspectives of using KISS1 as a potential diagnostic marker for cancer progression as well as a new anti-cancer therapeutics.