Survivin in skin pathologies

Survivin is a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP)protein family acting at the intersection between proliferation andcell survival. This protein exhibits low or undetectable expressionin most adult tissues but is increased in the majority of cancers.Suggested to be one of the most cancer-specific proteins identifiedto date, survivin acts as a signalling node in tumour maintenanceand, after first promising results, is now attracting increasingattention as a target in anti-cancer therapy. In the skin, survivinhas been implicated in a number of pathological conditions suchas psoriasis and tumours of melanocytic and epithelial origin. Itsexpression can correlate with tumour severity, metastasis anddecreased patient survival and has been inversely correlated withthe sensitivity to cytotoxic agents used in anti-cancer therapy.Survivin may also be of importance for normal epidermalhomeostasis possibly supporting self-renewal of epidermal stemcells. In this review, the authors summarize and discuss currentdata of survivin in skin biology and provide a comprehensivecompilation of survivin expression in skin pathologies with focuson future therapeutical use.[...