A network map of netrin receptor UNC5B-mediated signaling

UNC-5 Homolog B (UNC5B) is a member of the dependence receptor family. This family of receptors can induce two opposite intracellular signaling cascades depending on the presence or absence of the ligand and is thus capable of driving two opposing processes. UNC5B signaling has been implicated in several cancers, where it induces cell death in the absence of its ligand Netrin-1 and promotes cell survival in its presence. In addition, inhibition of Netrin-1 ligand has been reported to decrease invasiveness and angiogenesis in tumors. UNC5B signaling pathway has also been reported to be involved in several processes such as neural development, developmental angiogenesis and inflammatory processes. However, literature pertaining to UNC5B signaling is scarce and scattered. Considering the importance of UNC5B signaling, we developed a resource of signaling events mediated by UNC5B. Using data mined from published literature, we compiled an integrated pathway map consisting of 88 UNC5B-mediated signaling events and 55 proteins. These signaling events include 27 protein-protein interaction events, 33 catalytic events involving various post-translational modifications, 9 events of UNC5B-mediated protein activation/inhibition, 27 gene regulation events and 2 events of translocation. This pathway resource has been made available to the research community through NetPath ( http://www.netpath.org /), a manually curated resource of signaling pathways (Database URL: http://www.netpath.org/pathways?path_id=NetPath_172 ). The current resource provides a foundation for the understanding of UNC5B-mediated cellular responses. The development of resource will serve researchers to explore the mechanisms of UNC-5B signaling in cancers.