Subcutaneous injections of progranulin or its active domain (GRN A) induced lung metastases in breast cancer xenograft models, supporting a major role for progranulin in cancer progression.
Accurate measurement of progranulin (PGRN) in the circulation and in the tumor microenvironment is essential for understanding its role in cancer progression and metastasis.
Progranulin (pgrn; PC-cell-derived growth factor, epithelin precursor, or acrogranin) has been identified recently as an autocrine regulator of tumorigenesis in several cancer cells including SW-13 adrenal carcinomas and some breast cancers, but how pgrn promotes tumor progression is not well understood.