The Golgi Apparatus as an Anticancer Therapeutic Target

Abstract

Although the discovery of the Golgi apparatus (GA) was made over 125 years ago, only a very limited number of therapeutic approaches have been developed to target this complex organelle. The GA serves as a modification and transport center for proteins and lipids and also has more recently emerged as an important store for some ions. The dysregulation of GA functions is implicated in many cellular processes associated with cancer and some GA proteins are indeed described as cancer biomarkers. This dysregulation can affect protein modification, localization, and secretion, but also cellular metabolism, redox status, extracellular pH, and the extracellular matrix structure. Consequently, it can directly or indirectly affect cancer progression. For these reasons, the GA is an appealing anticancer pharmacological target. Despite this, no anticancer drug specifically targeting the GA has reached the clinic and few have entered the clinical trial stage. Advances in nanodelivery approaches may help change this scenario by specifically targeting tumor cells and/or the GA through passive, active, or physical strategies. This article aims to examine the currently available anticancer GA-targeted drugs and the nanodelivery strategies explored for their administration. The potential benefits and challenges of modulating and specifically targeting the GA function in the context of cancer therapy are discussed.