Digestive system neoplasms are the leading causes of
cancer-related death all over the world. Solute carrier (SLC) superfamily is composed of a series of transporters that are ubiquitously expressed in organs and tissues of digestive systems and mediate specific uptake of small molecule substrates in facilitative manner. Given the important role of
SLC proteins in maintaining normal functions of digestive system, dysregulation of these
protein in
digestive system neoplasms may deliver
biological and clinical significance that deserves systemic studies. In this review, we critically summarized the recent advances in understanding the role of
SLC proteins in
digestive system neoplasms. We highlighted that several SLC subfamilies, including
metal ion transporters, transporters of
glucose and other
sugars, transporters of
urea,
neurotransmitters and
biogenic amines,
ammonium and
choline, inorganic
cation/
anion transporters, transporters of
nucleotide,
amino acid and
oligopeptide organic anion transporters, transporters of
vitamins and cofactors and mitochondrial carrier, may play important roles in mediating the initiation, progression,
metastasis, and chemoresistance of
digestive system neoplasms.
Proteins in these SLC subfamilies may also have diagnostic and prognostic values to particular
cancer types. Differential expression of
SLC proteins in
tumors of digestive system was analyzed by extracting data from human
cancer database, which revealed that the roles of
SLC proteins may either be dependent on the substrates they transport or be tissue specific. In addition, small molecule modulators that pharmacologically regulate the functions of
SLC proteins were discussed for their possible application in the treatment of
digestive system neoplasms. This review highlighted the potential of SLC family
proteins as
drug target for the treatment of
digestive system neoplasms.