Hyaladherins and Hyaluronan Receptors (HABPs)

Hyaladherins and hyaluronan receptors are a heterogeneous group of proteins defined by their ability to bind hyaluronan (HA), a major glycosaminoglycan of the extracellular matrix (Day & Prestwich, 2002). This group includes structural proteins like the lecticans (aggrecan, versican, neurocan, and brevican) and cell-surface receptors such as CD44, RHAMM (HMMR), and LYVE-1 (Toole, 2004). These molecules regulate critical cellular processes including adhesion, migration, and proliferation by activating intracellular signaling pathways like PI3K/Akt and MAPK (Misra et al., 2011). In pathological conditions, particularly cancer and chronic inflammation, their dysregulation promotes tumor invasion, metastasis, and leukocyte recruitment (Turley et al., 2002). Therapeutic strategies target these interactions through monoclonal antibodies against receptors or by using hyaluronidases to deplete the HA substrate, thereby disrupting pro-survival signaling and improving intratumoral drug delivery (Jiang et al., 2011).

Other names

Hyaluronan-binding proteinsHA-binding proteinsHyaluronan receptorsExtracellular matrix hyaladherins

Inhibition of hyaluronan-receptor binding and enzymatic degradation of the hyaluronan matrix to disrupt pro-tumorigenic signaling and improve drug penetration (Misra et al., 2011; Jiang et al., 2011).