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Folate Receptors and Therapeutic Applications

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Targeted Drug Strategies for Cancer and Inflammation

Abstract

The folate receptors (FRs) are a family of proteins coded by genes located on chromosome 11 at 11q13 telomeric to Cyclin D1. There are now four members: α, β, γ, and δ. The first two isoforms are the best studied, and they are targets for both pharmacological and immunotherapies. There is little known about the last two isoforms relative to folate homeostasis. The first two are both glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked proteins, although soluble forms in plasma and milk also exist. FRα is overexpressed by many carcinomas. It is the most completely studied isoform, and it has been the model for receptor-mediated folate uptake by a process named “potocytosis.” To mediate folate uptake or transcytosis through epithelia, the FR appears to work in tandem with the recently described proton-coupled folate transporter (PCFT). FRβ is expressed on activated macrophages, and it is being targeted for therapy of patients with autoimmune diseases. The function of the FR, as well as regulation of its cycling in the lipid rafts on the cell membrane, is the subject of this review. The clinical significance of abnormal, missing, or soluble FR levels and associated autoantibodies will also be discussed in light of embryopathies and neurocognitive dysfunction.

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Acknowledgments

In the course of more than 40 years since I have done folate receptor (FR)/folate binding protein research, I have had the privilege of meeting with, collaborating with, and simply talking to an outstanding group of basic and clinical investigators especially as the folate binding protein “morphed” into the FR both in the field of basic biology and also the application of the receptor as a target for therapeutics has developed. Many of these people are contributors to this text. There are more than 1,300 citations in PubMed for “folate receptor” covering basic biology and the medical application of the family of FRs. Justice could not be done to all in a short chapter, so to everyone, I simply say thank you.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Barton A. Kamen

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  1. Barton A. Kamen
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Correspondence to Barton A. Kamen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Medicine, Institute of Cancer Research, Cotswold Road 15, Sutton, SM2 5NG, United Kingdom

    Ann L. Jackman

  2. Endocyte Inc., Kent Avenue 3000, West Lafayette, 47906, Indiana, USA

    Christopher P. Leamon

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Kamen, B.A. (2011). Folate Receptors and Therapeutic Applications. In: Jackman, A., Leamon, C. (eds) Targeted Drug Strategies for Cancer and Inflammation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8417-3_2

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