Inorganic phosphate transporters in cancer: Functions, molecular mechanisms and possible clinical applications

Inorganic phosphate is one of the most essential nutrients for the maintenance of cell life. Because of its essential role in nutrient supplementation, the study of plasma membrane inorganic phosphate transporters in cancer biology has received much attention in recent years. Several studies suggest that these transporters are up-regulated in tumor cells and thus have been considered to be important promoters of tumor progression. Altered expression levels of inorganic phosphate transporters, such as NaPi-IIb (SLC34A2) and PiT-1 (SLC20A1), have been demonstrated. The purpose of this review article was to gather the relevant experimental records on inorganic phosphate transporters in tumors and to demonstrate the importance of these proteins in clinical applications. In this work, we demonstrate that for decades, the potential use of the inorganic phosphate transporter as an antigen for the diagnosis of tumor subtypes remained unknown. With the advancement in molecular biology techniques, phosphate transporters have been identified as being associated with cancer. In addition to their altered expression in cancer, several studies have demonstrated other functions of inorganic phosphate transporters, such as transceptors, rearrangements with oncogenes and modifications in the expression of ABC transporters, aiding in the process of proliferation and drug resistance.