Table 1.
A summary of the expression patterns of CBS, CSE, and 3-MST in several different human malignancies and synopses of the findings.
| Tumor Type | H2S Synthesizing Enzyme Expression | Comments | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colon Cancer | CBS increased | Higher colon cancer CBS promotes cancer growth, mitochondrial bioenergetic activity, and increased glycolysis, migration, invasion, and chemotherapy resistance. While not increased, 3-MST expression promotes colon cancer EMT. | [42,43,48,49] |
| Ovarian Cancer | CBS and CSE increased | Increased CBS and CSE promote events including cancer growth, more active mitochondrial bioenergetics and morphologic integrity, migration, invasion, chemotherapy resistance, and a poor prognosis. Data also indicates a role for polysulfides in ovarian cancer. | [36,51,52] |
| Breast Cancer | CBS and CSE increased | Increased CBS and CSE promote cell growth, migration, and chemotherapy resistance. Membranous CBS protects cells from macrophage-derived ROS and confers a worse prognosis. CSE promotes breast cancer metastasis. | [39,56,58] |
| Bladder Cancer | CBS, CSE, and 3-MST increased | H2S likely promotes bladder cancer cell proliferation and invasion, and MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein expression. H2S synthesis in tumor lysates positively correlates with tumor stage and grade. | [61,62] |
| Renal Cancer | Most studies show suppressed or unchanged expression | H2S appears to promote tumor growth. The present studies show contradictory results, possibly based on analysis methods employed. | [64,65,66] |
| Prostate Cancer | Increased or decreased CSE in different studies | CSE promotes cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and poor patient survival. CSE promotes cell migration by an enzymatic activity-independent mechanism. Another study shows that CSE suppression promotes prostatic cancer. | [68,69] |
| Thyroid Cancer | CBS and CSE increased | Different studies show increased CBS or CSE. NaHS promotes thyroid cancer proliferation, migration, and cell viability. | [71,72,73] |
| Pulmonary adenocarcinoma | CBS, CSE, and 3-MST increased | H2S promotes cell proliferation, mitochondrial bioenergetics, and mitochondrial DNA repair. | [74] |
| Melanoma | Mildly increased CSE expression | CSE expression inhibited melanoma cell growth and H2S donors increased apoptosis by NF-κB inhibition. | [76] |
| Oral squamous cell carcinoma | CBS, CSE, and 3-MST increased | Direct measurements of tumor H2S concentrations revealed 13% higher H2S than in adjacent benign oral squamous epithelium. | [16] |