The urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) plays a pivotal role in regulating extracellular proteolysis, cell migration, immune responses, and tissue remodeling across diverse physiological and pathological contexts. This review provides detailed insights into the structure of uPAR, ligand interactions, and signaling mechanisms, emphasizing its central function in cancer progression, including tumor invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, and modulation of the tumor microenvironment. We also summarize the involvement of uPAR as a key player in cardiovascular, infectious, and neurological diseases, where it contributes to inflammation, tissue damage, and disease progression. However, translational gaps remain, most notably inconsistent assay harmonization (especially for suPAR), uncertain context-specific cut-offs and patient-selection criteria and limited multicenter validation for uPAR-targeted imaging and therapeutics. This review addresses these gaps by synthesizing cross-disease evidence to clarify clinical use cases and outline practical selection frameworks. Furthermore, we discuss the clinical potential of uPAR as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in diverse disease contexts, along with recent advances in therapeutic strategies targeting uPAR.
尿激酶型纤溶酶原激活物受体（uPAR）在多种生理和病理过程中对细胞外蛋白水解、细胞迁移、免疫反应及组织重塑起着关键调控作用。本综述详细阐述了uPAR的结构特征、配体相互作用及其信号转导机制，重点探讨了其在癌症进展中的核心功能，包括肿瘤侵袭、转移、血管生成及肿瘤微环境调控。同时，我们总结了uPAR在心血管疾病、感染性疾病和神经系统疾病中的关键作用，其通过参与炎症反应、组织损伤等过程推动疾病发展。然而，该领域仍存在转化研究缺口，主要体现在检测方法标准化不足（尤其是可溶性uPAR）、疾病特异性临界值与患者选择标准不明确，以及针对uPAR的靶向成像与治疗手段缺乏多中心验证等方面。本综述通过整合跨疾病证据来厘清临床应用场景并构建实用选择框架，以应对这些挑战。此外，我们还探讨了uPAR作为多种疾病诊断与预后生物标志物的临床潜力，以及近年来靶向uPAR治疗策略的最新进展。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家