There are two opposing sides to the controversial cysteine/glutamate antiporter. On one hand, it can be viewed a guardian of the cell, protecting it from the damaging oxidative stress that can cause cell death and even cancer. But, conversely, it has a dark side, actually facilitating cancer in a number of ways.
Reactive oxygen species, ROS, are beneficially involved in many signaling pathways that control development and maintain cellular homeostasis. In physiological conditions, a tightly regulated redox balance protects cells from injurious ROS activity, altered balance leads to various pathological conditions including cancer. MAP17 is a small 17-kDa non-glycosylated membrane protein that is overexpressed in many tumors of different origins, including carcinomas.
