Description
Relevance: Glypican-3/GPC3 is a member of the glypican family. It belongs to the glypican family and is highly expressed in lung, liver, and kidney. It is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan, which is overexpressed in various neoplasms such as hepatocellular carcinoma, malignant melanoma, and testicular yolk sac tumor, and plays an important role in cell growth and differentiation. GPC3 function is tissue dependent. In some tissues, GPC3 acts as a tumor suppressor gene, whereas in others, it acts as an oncofetal protein. GPC3 is a reliable marker for hepatocellular carcinoma. The sensitivity and specificity exceeds both alpha-fetoprotein and hepatocyte-paraffin1. GPC3 immunohistochemistry can aid in the differentiation of testicular germ cell tumors, being expressed in all yolk sac tumors but not in seminomas. GPC3 expression has also been identified in some squamous cell carcinomas of the lung and clear cell carcinomas of the ovary. Glypican-3 is currently regarded as a tumor marker and potential target for immunotherapy.
Function: Cell surface proteoglycan that bears heparan sulfate. Inhibits the dipeptidyl peptidase activity of DPP4. May be involved in the suppression/modulation of growth in the predominantly mesodermal tissues and organs. May play a role in the modulation of IGF2 interactions with its receptor and thereby modulate its function. May regulate growth and tumor predisposition