%0 Journal Article
%T MUC1-mediated motility in breast cancer: a review highlighting the role of the MUC1/ICAM-1/Src signaling triad.
%A Haddon L
%A Hugh J
%J Clin Exp Metastasis
%V 32
%N 4
%D Apr 2015
%M 25759211
%F 4.51
%R 10.1007/s10585-015-9711-8
%X Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women with the leading cause of death being metastasis, the spread of cancer to distant organs. For those patients with high-risk estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer, an increased expression of the glycoprotein MUC1 is associated with resistance to anti-hormonal therapy, metastasis and death. Tumor cells may use MUC1 to metastasize by exploiting the vascular adhesion pathways used by leukocytes during the inflammatory response. MUC1 is a type 1 transmembrane protein whose cytoplasmic tail acts as a scaffold for several signaling pathways including the non-receptor kinase Src, a signaling molecule involved in cell differentiation, proliferation, adhesion and motility. This review will highlight our current knowledge of how MUC1/ICAM-1 binding can lead to the recruitment and activation of Src and propose a novel role for lipid raft microdomains in this promigratory signaling. Improved understanding of the mechanism of metastases and the underlying signaling cascade is a prerequisite to the discovery of therapeutic targets to prevent metastasis and death in ER+ breast cancer patients.