Hypoxia fuels JAK/STAT-LIV1 signaling: A promising therapeutic avenue in triple-negative breast cancer - 20/09/26

Abstract |
Triple-negative breast cancer remains one of the most aggressive and therapeutically challenging breast cancer subtypes because of its high metastatic potential, molecular heterogeneity and limited targeted treatment options. Hypoxia is a hallmark of TNBC tumor microenvironment and activates signaling cascades that promote tumor progression, metastasis, immune evasion, and therapeutic resistance. Although hypoxia, STAT3 signaling, LIV-1 (SLC39A6), and zinc homeostasis have been independently implicated in TNBC progression, the mechanistic crosstalk among these pathways and their integration into a unified, subtype specific model remains insufficiently understood. Emerging evidence suggests that LIV-1 functions not merely as a zinc transporter but as an active regulator of oncogenic signaling. Under hypoxia conditions, stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) promotes cytokine- mediated STAT3 activation, leading to increased LIV-1 expression and consequent intracellular zinc accumulation. Elevated zinc levels, in turn, may sustain STAT3 phosphorylation through inhibition of negative regulatory phosphatases, establishing a self-reinforcing feed-forward loop that enhances epithelial-mesenchymal transition, cancer stemness, immune modulation and treatment resistance. Current TNBC therapies, including chemotherapy and emerging immunotherapies show limited durable efficacy, underscoring the need for mechanistically grounded biomarkers and targets. Based on these observations, we propose the Hypoxia–STAT3–LIV-1–zinc signaling axis as a central regulatory node driving TNBC progression and a promising candidate for biomarker development and therapeutic targeting. This review integrates current evidence supporting this signaling network, identifies critical knowledge gaps, and outlines experimental strategies including hypoxia-mimetic models, LIV-1/STAT3 knockdown systems, and zinc chelation assays needed to validate this proposed mechanism and translate it into clinical application.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Graphical Abstract |
Highlights |
• | Hypoxia-activated JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway controls the expression of LIV1 in TNBC through the direct or indirect IL6. |
• | Overexpression of LIV1 leads to the EMT and results in a worse prognosis in LIV1-driven BC and TNBC patients. |
• | LIV-1 regulates embryonic development, and its dysregulation contributes to disease. |
• | LIV-1 serving as a diagnostic and therapeutic target in TNBC. |
• | Targeting the hypoxia-LIV-1 axis might be a promising therapeutic approach for TNBC. |
Keywords : Triple-negative Breast cancer, LIV-1, Hypoxia, STAT3, Epithelial-mesenchymal transition, Precision oncology
Plan
Vol 203
Article 119850- octobre 2026 Retour au numéroBienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.
L’accès au texte intégral de cet article nécessite un abonnement.
Déjà abonné à cette revue ?
