Research Progress in Nodal Signaling

Nodal is an important embryonic morphogenic factor belonging to TGF-β superfamily.In recent years,it has been increasingly of interests especially in the field of tumor treatment because cancer genome project shows that the expression of Nodal is restricted to embryonic tissues,hESCs,and cancer cells.It has been found that nodal and tumor formation has a certain relationship,but the specific mechanism is not clear yet.The study on the role of Nodal signaling in the pathogenesis of tumor will be helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of tumor.