Figure 2. Cancer progression-associated signaling pathways activated by integrin α6β4.

Integrin α6β4 can activate multiple signal transduction cascades either directly by binding its ligand laminin or by amplifying signals from multiple growth factors. Enhanced signaling through these pathways contributes to tumor progression in terms of enhanced proliferation, cell survival, invasion and metastasis. Notably, integrin α6β4 can act as a tumor suppressor by promoting apoptosis in the presence of a wild-type p53. For this reason, integrin α6β4 is often overexpressed primarily in tumor types where p53 mutations are prominent such as pancreatic and basal-like breast cancers.