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Frontiers of Medicine >> 2015, Volume 9, Issue 4 doi: 10.1007/s11684-015-0416-9

Function of Slit/Robo signaling in breast cancer

Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Key Laboratory of Breast Cancer Prevention and Therapy of the Ministry of Education; Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy of Tianjin, Tianjin 300060, China

Accepted: 2015-11-05 Available online: 2015-11-26

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Abstract

Slit and Robo are considered tumor suppressors because they are frequently inactivated in various tumor tissue. These genes are closely correlated with CpG hypermethylation in their promoters. The Slit/Robo signaling pathway is reportedly involved in breast cancer development and metastasis. Overexpression of Slit/Robo induces its tumor suppressive effects possibly by inactivating the β-catenin/LEF/TCF and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways or by altering β-catenin/E-cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion in breast cancer cells. Furthermore, loss of Slit proteins or their Robo receptors upregulates the CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling axis in human breast carcinoma. In addition, this pathway regulates the distant migration of breast cancer cells not only by mediating the phosphorylation of the downstream molecules of CXCL12/CXCR4 and srGAPs, such as PI3K/Src, RAFTK/ Pyk2, and CDC42, but also by regulating the activities of MAP kinases. This review includes recent studies on the functions of Slit/Robo signaling in breast cancer and its molecular mechanisms.

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