Claudin18.2

Claudin18.2 is a transmembrane protein mainly present in differentiated gastric epithelial cells. As the major component of tight junction structure, it plays a crucial role in maintaining the specificity, stability, and integrity of mucosal barrier. Some research found that Claudin18.2 is expressed in gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer and other tumors, speculated that it is caused by gene fusion or promoter methylation level changing. Moreover, high expression of Claudin18.2 is closely related to the poor prognosis of patients, which will lead to abnormal structure and function in tight junction. And Claudin18.2 may interact with integrin avβ5, Ep-CAM, and other cytokines to promote tumor growth and metastasis. However, some research found that the expression level of Claudin18.2 is negatively correlated with the invasiveness of lung cancer, so its prognostic value still needs further analysis. In addition, the characteristic that Claudin18.2 hides in normal tissues but exposes on the surface of cancer cells makes it become a popular target for tumor therapy.