Open Access

REVIEW

Oncogenic and tumor-suppressive roles of Lipocalin 2 (LCN2) in tumor progression

BAOXING HUANG^1,#, ZICHANG JIA^1,#, CHENCHEN FU², MOXIAN CHEN², ZEZHUO SU^3,*, YUNSHENG CHEN^1,*

1 Clinical Laboratory, Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, Shenzhen, 518038, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Biotechnology of Educational Department of China, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
3 Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

* Corresponding Authors: ZEZHUO SU. Email: ; YUNSHENG CHEN. Email:
# These authors contributed equally to this work

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: New Insights in Drug Resistance of Cancer Therapy: A New Wine in an Old Bottle)

Oncology Research 2025, 33(3), 567-575. https://doi.org/10.32604/or.2024.051672

Received 12 March 2024; Accepted 17 June 2024; Issue published 28 February 2025

Abstract

Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) is a member of the lipocalin superfamily with multiple functions and can participate in the transport of a variety of small lipophilic ligands in vivo. LCN2 is significantly expressed in various tumors and plays an important role in regulating tumor cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. The specific actions of LCN2 in tumors may vary depending on the particular type of cancer involved. In this review, we provide an extensive overview of the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of LCN2 in health and disease. Furthermore, we summarize the impact of LCN2 dysregulation in a broad range of tumors. Lastly, we examine the mechanisms of action of LCN2 during tumorigenesis, progression, and metastasis. Understanding the complex relationships between LCN2 and tumor development, progression, and metastasis is vital for advancing our knowledge of cancer biology, developing biomarkers for diagnosis and clinical decision-making, and creating therapeutic strategies to improve the management of patients with cancer.

---

Keywords

---