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Table 4 List of representative genes in cancer implicated in neurodegenerative diseases

From: The associations between Parkinson’s disease and cancer: the plot thickens

Gene/Protein

Biological functions

Association with Cancers

Roles in neurodegeneration

TP53/p53

transcriptional factor, regulates DNA repair, cell cycle control, apoptosis [115]

tumor suppressor [232]

acts as protective factor by interacting with PD or AD related proteins via cell cycle and apoptosis signaling [122]

ATM/ATM

serine/threonine protein kinase; regulates DNA repair, cell cycle control, apoptosis [108, 233]

tumor suppressor; mutations increase the risk of breast, stomach, bladder, pancreas, lung, lymphoid and ovarian cancers [110, 234, 235]

mutations lead to AT, inactivation causes cerebellar degeneration [104]

PTEN/PTEN

protein tyrosine phosphatase [123]; apoptosis regulation, migration, and adhesion, angiogenesis [129]

tumor suppressor [129]; mutations cause PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome and increase the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer and endometrial cancer [124, 127, 132]

promotes axon regeneration [136]; regulates PINK1 and mTOR pathway [136]

MC1R/MC1R

main pigmentation gene [148]

loss-of-function variants associated with melanoma [148, 236]

variants R151C and R160W increase PD risk [14, 153]