Figure 1.

Impact of periostin on cancer with regard to metastatic dissemination. (A) Interaction of periostin with integrins promotes migration, survival and proliferation of cells through activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt pathway, which leads to malignant transformation. (B) Periostin activates the canonical Wnt pathway; augmentation of this signal may additionally depend on mutation-related overexpression and co-stimulation with certain oncogenes. (C) Presence of periostin favors the transfer of cancer cells to sites of metastases. PKB, protein kinase B; LRP, low density lipoprotein receptor; DSH, Dishevlled; FRZ, frizzy; APC, adenomatous polyposis coli; GSK3, glycogen synthase kinase 3; ECM, extracellular matrix.