Role of the WASP and WAVE family proteins in breast cancer invasion and metastasis

The Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) and WASP family verprolin-homologous protein (WAVE) family are a group of molecules that form a key link between GTPases and the actin cytoskeleton. The role of WASP/WAVE family proteins in the control of actin polymerization through activation of the actin-related protein 2/3 complex is critical in the formation of the actin-based membrane protrusions seen in cell migration and invasion. For this reason, the activity of the WASP/WAVE family in cancer cell invasion and migration has been of great interest in recent years. Many reports have highlighted the potential of targeting the WASP/WAVE family as a therapy for the prevention of cancer progression, in particular breast cancer. This review focuses on the role of the WASP/WAVE family in breast cancer cell invasion and migration and how this relates to the molecular mechanisms of WASP/WAVE activity, their exact contributions to the stages of cancer progression, and how this can lead to the development of anticancer drugs that target the WASP/WAVE family and related pathways.

• Publication year

  2015

• Venue

  Breast Cancer

• Publication date

  2015-04-24

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.2147/BCTT.S59006PMID 25941446PMCID 4416637
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Steering cell migration: lamellipodium dynamics and the regulation of directional persistence

  2014cited by this paper
• Rhapontigenin suppresses cell migration and invasion by inhibiting the PI3K-dependent Rac1 signaling pathway in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells.

  2014cited by this paper
• Cancer statistics, 2014

  2014cited by this paper
• Urokinase-type plasminogen activator expression and Rac1/WAVE-2/Arp2/3 pathway are blocked by pterostilbene to suppress cell migration and invasion in MDA-MB-231 cells.

  2014cited by this paper
• Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein regulates leukocyte-dependent breast cancer metastasis.

  2013cited by this paper
• Upregulated WAVE3 expression is essential for TGF-β-mediated EMT and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer cells

  2013cited by this paper
• Increased Expression Levels of WAVE3 Are Associated with the Progression and Metastasis of Triple Negative Breast Cancer

  2012cited by this paper
• HSP90 and HSP70 Proteins Are Essential for Stabilization and Activation of WASF3 Metastasis-promoting Protein*

  2012cited by this paper
• Scar/WAVE3 contributes to motility and plasticity of lamellipodial dynamics but not invasion in three dimensions.

  2012cited by this paper
• N-WASP-mediated invadopodium formation is involved in intravasation and lung metastasis of mammary tumors

  2012cited by this paper
• Surfing the big WAVE: Insights into the role of WAVE3 as a driving force in cancer progression and metastasis.

  2012influential reference
• Claudin-5 is involved in breast cancer cell motility through the N-WASP and ROCK signalling pathways

  2012cited by this paper
• Life at the leading edge.

  2011cited by this paper
• WAVE2, N‐WASP, and mena facilitate cell invasion via phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase‐dependent local accumulation of actin filaments

  2011cited by this paper
• Degrading devices: invadosomes in proteolytic cell invasion.

  2011cited by this paper
• Global cancer statistics

  2011cited by this paper
• WAVE3 is associated with invasiveness in prostate cancer cells.

  2010influential reference
• Inactivation of the WASF3 gene in prostate cancer cells leads to suppression of tumorigenicity and metastases

  2010cited by this paper
• Generation of branched actin networks: assembly and regulation of the N‐WASP and WAVE molecular machines

  2010cited by this paper
• p53-cofactor JMY is a Multifunctional Actin Nucleation Factor

  2009cited by this paper
• Activation of the WAVE complex by coincident signals controls actin assembly.

  2009cited by this paper
• The WAVE Regulatory Complex is Inhibited

  2009cited by this paper
• Actin dynamics at the leading edge: from simple machinery to complex networks.

  2009cited by this paper
• Cortactin regulates cofilin and N-WASp activities to control the stages of invadopodium assembly and maturation

  2009cited by this paper
• The Wave complex is intrinsically inactive.

  2009cited by this paper
• Building the actin cytoskeleton: filopodia contribute to the construction of contractile bundles in the lamella

  2008cited by this paper
• WAVE1 is associated with invasiveness and growth of prostate cancer cells.

  2008cited by this paper
• WHAMM is an Arp2/3 complex activator that binds microtubules and functions in ER to Golgi transport.

  2008cited by this paper
• Expression of the WASP Verprolin-Homologues (WAVE Members) in Human Breast Cancer

  2008cited by this paper
• The many faces of actin: matching assembly factors with cellular structures

  2007cited by this paper
• Correlation between liver metastasis of the colocalization of actin‐related protein 2 and 3 complex and WAVE2 in colorectal carcinoma

  2007cited by this paper
• Polymerizing Actin Fibers Position Integrins Primed to Probe for Adhesion Sites

  2007cited by this paper
• The WASP–WAVE protein network: connecting the membrane to the cytoskeleton

  2007cited by this paper
• N-WASP is a putative tumour suppressor in breast cancer cells, in vitro and in vivo, and is associated with clinical outcome in patients with breast cancer

  2007cited by this paper
• Human Subtelomeric WASH Genes Encode a New Subclass of the WASP Family

  2007cited by this paper
• Regulation of the actin cytoskeleton in cancer cell migration and invasion.

  2007cited by this paper
• IQGAP1 Stimulates Actin Assembly through the N-Wasp-Arp2/3 Pathway*

  2007cited by this paper
• Increased Expression of Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein Family Verprolin-Homologous Protein 2 Correlated with Poor Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

  2006cited by this paper
• Coexpression of Actin-Related Protein 2 and Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Family Verproline-Homologous Protein 2 in Adenocarcinoma of the Lung

  2006cited by this paper
• Optimization of WAVE2 complex–induced actin polymerization by membrane-bound IRSp53, PIP3, and Rac

  2006cited by this paper
• Tumor metastasis: mechanistic insights and clinical challenges

  2006cited by this paper
• WAVE3 promotes cell motility and invasion through the regulation of MMP-1, MMP-3, and MMP-9 expression.

  2005cited by this paper
• Inclusion of Scar/WAVE3 in a similar complex to Scar/WAVE1 and 2

  2005cited by this paper
• Macrophages promote the invasion of breast carcinoma cells via a colony-stimulating factor-1/epidermal growth factor paracrine loop.

  2005cited by this paper
• A WAVE2-Abi1 complex mediates CSF-1-induced F-actin-rich membrane protrusions and migration in macrophages

  2005cited by this paper
• Rac-WAVE2 signaling is involved in the invasive and metastatic phenotypes of murine melanoma cells

  2005cited by this paper
• Abi1 regulates the activity of N-WASP and WAVE in distinct actin-based processes

  2005cited by this paper
• Molecular mechanisms of invadopodium formation

  2005cited by this paper
• Chemical inhibition of N-WASP by stabilization of a native autoinhibited conformation

  2004cited by this paper
• PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 binding is necessary for WAVE2-induced formation of lamellipodia

  2004cited by this paper
• Cell migration: Rho GTPases lead the way.

  2004cited by this paper
• Imaging sites of N-wasp activity in lamellipodia and invadopodia of carcinoma cells.

  2004cited by this paper
• A Paracrine Loop between Tumor Cells and Macrophages Is Required for Tumor Cell Migration in Mammary Tumors

  2004cited by this paper
• N-WASP and WAVE2 Acting Downstream of Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Are Required for Myogenic Cell Migration Induced by Hepatocyte Growth Factor*

  2004cited by this paper
• Foot and mouth: podosomes, invadopodia and circular dorsal ruffles

  2004cited by this paper
• Abi 1 is essential for the formation and activation of a WAVE 2 signalling complex

  2004cited by this paper
• Abi1 is essential for the formation and activation of a WAVE2 signalling complex

  2004cited by this paper
• The Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

  2004cited by this paper
• Purification and architecture of the ubiquitous Wave complex.

  2004cited by this paper
• Differential roles of WAVE1 and WAVE2 in dorsal and peripheral ruffle formation for fibroblast cell migration.

  2003cited by this paper
• Tumour-cell invasion and migration: diversity and escape mechanisms

  2003cited by this paper
• Cell Migration: Integrating Signals from Front to Back

  2003cited by this paper
• Molecular requirements for actin-based lamella formation in Drosophila S2 cells

  2003cited by this paper
• WAVE2 is required for directed cell migration and cardiovascular development

  2003cited by this paper
• Mechanism of regulation of WAVE1-induced actin nucleation by Rac1 and Nck

  2002cited by this paper
• Cellular control of actin nucleation.

  2002cited by this paper
• WAVE3, an actin-polymerization gene, is truncated and inactivated as a result of a constitutional t(1;13)(q21;q12) chromosome translocation in a patient with ganglioneuroblastoma

  2002cited by this paper
• WASP and WAVE family proteins: key molecules for rapid rearrangement of cortical actin filaments and cell movement.

  2001cited by this paper
• N-WASP deficiency reveals distinct pathways for cell surface projections and microbial actin-based motility

  2001cited by this paper
• Actin pedestal formation by enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and intracellular motility of Shigella flexneri are abolished in N‐WASP‐defective cells

  2001cited by this paper
• Mechanism of N-Wasp Activation by Cdc42 and Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Bisphosphate

  2000cited by this paper
• Autoinhibition and activation mechanisms of the Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein

  2000cited by this paper
• Integration of multiple signals through cooperative regulation of the N-WASP-Arp2/3 complex.

  2000cited by this paper
• The Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein directs actin-based motility by stimulating actin nucleation with the Arp2/3 complex.

  1999cited by this paper
• The interaction between N-WASP and the Arp2/3 complex links Cdc42-dependent signals to actin assembly.

  1999cited by this paper
• Identification of two human WAVE/SCAR homologues as general actin regulatory molecules which associate with the Arp2/3 complex.

  1999cited by this paper
• WAVE, a novel WASP‐family protein involved in actin reorganization induced by Rac

  1998influential reference
• Chemotaxis of macrophages is abolished in the Wiskott‐Aldrich syndrome

  1998cited by this paper
• Induction of filopodium formation by a WASP-related actin-depolymerizing protein N-WASP

  1998cited by this paper
• Scar1 and the related Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein, WASP, regulate the actin cytoskeleton through the Arp2/3 complex.

  1998cited by this paper
• Phagocytosis of cross-linked gelatin matrix by human breast carcinoma cells correlates with their invasive capacity.

  1998cited by this paper
• Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome/X-linked thrombocytopenia: WASP gene mutations, protein expression, and phenotype.

  1997cited by this paper
• N‐WASP, a novel actin‐depolymerizing protein, regulates the cortical cytoskeletal rearrangement in a PIP2‐dependent manner downstream of tyrosine kinases.

  1996cited by this paper
• The Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

  1995cited by this paper
• Isolation of a novel gene mutated in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.

  1994cited by this paper
• A multiinstitutional survey of the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.

  1994cited by this paper
• Cancer statistics

  1989cited by this paper
• Persistent, directional motility of cells and cytoplasmic fragments in the absence of microtubules

  1984cited by this paper
• Pedigree demonstrating a sex-linked recessive condition characterized by draining ears, eczematoid dermatitis and bloody diarrhea.

  1954cited by this paper
• Pedigree demonstrating a sex-linked recessive condition characterized by draining ears, eczematoid dermatitis and bloody diarrhea.

  1954cited by this paper
• -transformed Fibroblasts Src in Podosome Formation and Degradation of Extracellular Matrix Essential Role of Neural Wiskott-aldrich Syndrome Protein in Updated Version Cited Articles Citing Articles E-mail Alerts Essential Role of Neural Wiskott-aldrich Syndrome Protein in Podosome Formation and Deg

  year unknowncited by this paper
• Tumorigenesis and Neoplastic Progression Down-Regulation of WAVE3 , a Metastasis Promoter Gene, Inhibits Invasion and Metastasis of Breast Cancer Cells

  year unknowninfluential reference
• Estrogen Receptor- (cid:1) Promotes Breast Cancer Cell Motility and Invasion via Focal Adhesion Kinase and N-WASP

  year unknowncited by this paper
• submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com

  year unknowncited by this paper

• The WASP/WAVE Protein Family in Breast Cancer and Their Role in the Metastatic Cascade

  2025cites this paper
• The Role of the Wiskott–Aldrich Syndrome Protein Family in Cancer Development, Invasion, and Metastasis

  2025cites this paper
• Causal bio-miner: Response biomarkers discovery framework for microarray transcriptomics treatment subgroups classification

  2025cites this paper
• Role of WAVE3 as an actin binding protein in the pathology of triple negative breast cancer

  2024influential citation
• CYFIP2: potential pancreatic cancer biomarker and immunotherapeutic target

  2024cites this paper
• RNA-seq-based elucidation of lactylation in breast cancer

  2024influential citation
• Neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP) promotes distant metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma via activation of LOXL2

  2024cites this paper
• Stiff matrix induced srGAP2 tension gradients control migration direction in triple-negative breast cancer

  2023cites this paper
• nWASP Inhibition Increases Wound Healing via TrKb/PLCγ Signalling

  2023cites this paper
• Potential Mechanism of CDC42 Promoting HCC Metastasis

  2023cites this paper
• Molecular dynamics simulations reveal the activation mechanism of mutations G12V and Q61L of Cdc42

  2022cites this paper
• Role and mechanism of actin-related protein 2/3 complex signaling in cancer invasion and metastasis: A review

  2022cites this paper
• Mechanism of WASP and WAVE family proteins in the progression of prostate cancer

  2021cites this paper
• ABI1‐based expression signature predicts breast cancer metastasis and survival

  2021cites this paper
• Molecular Pathogenesis of the Coronin Family: CORO2A Facilitates Migration and Invasion Abilities in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

  2021cites this paper
• Effect of MHC Linked 7-Gene Signature on Delayed Hepatocellular Carcinoma Recurrence

  2021cites this paper
• Proteomics and its applications in breast cancer.

  2021cites this paper
• Role of RhoC in cancer cell migration

  2021cites this paper
• Human Cytomegalovirus Host Interactions: EGFR and Host Cell Signaling Is a Point of Convergence Between Viral Infection and Functional Changes in Infected Cells

  2021cites this paper
• Deciphering molecular mechanisms of metastasis: novel insights into targets and therapeutics

  2021cites this paper
• Actin Cytoskeleton and Regulation of TGFβ Signaling: Exploring Their Links

  2021cites this paper
• Molecular Basis of LH Action on Breast Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion via Kinase and Scaffold Proteins

  2021influential citation
• Heregulin-induced cell migration is prevented by trastuzumab and trastuzumab-emtansine in HER2+ breast cancer

  2021cites this paper
• Targeting WASF3 Signaling in Metastatic Cancer

  2021cites this paper
• Cytotoxic potential of Artemisia absinthium extract loaded polymeric nanoparticles against breast cancer cells: Insight into the protein targets.

  2020cites this paper
• Rho GTPases: Promising Candidates for Overcoming Chemotherapeutic Resistance.

  2020cites this paper
• Invadopodia: clearing the way for cancer cell invasion.

  2020cites this paper
• EP300 knockdown reduces cancer stem cell phenotype, tumor growth and metastasis in triple negative breast cancer

  2020cites this paper
• Hold on or Cut? Integrin- and MMP-Mediated Cell–Matrix Interactions in the Tumor Microenvironment

  2020cites this paper
• EP300 Knockdown Abrogates Cancer Stem Cell Phenotype, Tumor Growth and Metastasis in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

  2020cites this paper
• The extracellular matrix in tumor progression and metastasis

  2019cites this paper
• Expression of Cytoskeleton Actin in Cancer and Metastasis

  2019cites this paper
• Modulation of CD44, EGFR and RAC pathway genes (WAVE complex) in Epithelial cancers.

  2019cites this paper
• Identification of protein targets and the mechanism of the cytotoxic action of Ipomoea turpethum extract loaded nanoparticles against breast cancer cells.

  2019cites this paper
• Synthesis, Anti-Cancer and Anti-Migratory Evaluation of 3,6-Dibromocarbazole and 5-Bromoindole Derivatives

  2019cites this paper
• Non-canonical Notch Signaling Regulates Actin Remodeling in Cell Migration by Activating PI3K/AKT/Cdc42 Pathway

  2019cites this paper
• Lrrk promotes tau neurotoxicity through dysregulation of actin and mitochondrial dynamics

  2018cites this paper
• Solasodine reverses stemness and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human colorectal cancer.

  2018cites this paper
• MicroRNA-214-5p Inhibits the Invasion and Migration of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells by Targeting Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Like

  2018cites this paper
• Regulating Cdc42 and Its Signaling Pathways in Cancer: Small Molecules and MicroRNA as New Treatment Candidates

  2018cites this paper
• The Actomyosin Network and Cellular Motility: A S100A4 Regulatory View into the Process

  2017cites this paper
• Immune responses against tumors controlled by the actin cytoskeleton : lessons from primary immunodeficiencies

  2017cites this paper
• Neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (nWASP) is implicated in human lung cancer invasion

  2017cites this paper
• N-WASP promotes invasion and migration of cervical cancer cells through regulating p38 MAPKs signaling pathway.

  2017cites this paper
• Molecular Control of Actin Dynamics In Vivo: Insights from Drosophila.

  2017cites this paper
• PROTEIN-LIGAND INTERACTIONS: THE INFLUENCE OF MINOR COMPONENTS OF METABOLISM

  2017cites this paper
• Role of Rac 1 / WAVE 2 Signaling in Mediating the Inhibitory Effects of γ-Tocotrienol on Mammary Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion

  2016cites this paper
• Marine Mollusk‐Derived Agents with Antiproliferative Activity as Promising Anticancer Agents to Overcome Chemotherapy Resistance

  2016cites this paper
• Paxillin, a novel controller in the signaling of estrogen to FAK/N-WASP/Arp2/3 complex in breast cancer cells.

  2016cites this paper
• H2.0-like homeobox 1 acts as a tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma

  2016cites this paper
• Role of Rac1/WAVE2 Signaling in Mediating the Inhibitory Effects of γ-Tocotrienol on Mammary Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion.

  2016cites this paper
• Arpin downregulation in breast cancer is associated with poor prognosis

  2016cites this paper
• Expression analysis and clinical significance of eIF4E, VEGF-C, E-cadherin and MMP-2 in colorectal adenocarcinoma

  2016cites this paper
• F-box protein interactions with the hallmark pathways in cancer.

  2016cites this paper
• Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome proteins in the nucleus: aWASH with possibilities

  2015cites this paper