Table 3 Role of WISP3 in human cancers

Breast cancer

Suppresses cell growth, invasion, metastasis; maintains acinar organization; reverses EMT to MET, reduces TICs (tumor initiating cells)

Inhibits IGF-IR, IRS1 and ERK-1/2, snail and ZEB1, BMP4, TAK1 and p38 kinase, PI3K/Akt, TβRIII, and Notch1; increases E-cadherin

[22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)

Detected in only a few HCC samples, and its function remains unknown

Not detected

[37]

Colon cancer

Harbors loss of expression, frameshifts, and mutations

Not detected

[2, 49]

Gastric cancer

Exhibits mutations and loss of expression; associated with cancer size and tumor invasion; promotes cell proliferation, migration and invasion

Induces Wnt/β-catenin signaling

[49, 53, 54]

Lung cancer

Exhibits mutations in early nonsmoking lung cancer patients

Not detected

[67]

Melanoma

Shows loss of copy numbers

[71]

Chondrosarcoma

Promotes cell migration and differentiation

Upregulates ICAM-1and VEGF-A; inhibits miR-452

[95, 96]