Roles of EphA1/A2 and ephrin-A1 in cancer

The biological functions of the Eph/ephrin system have been intensively investigated and well documented so far since its discovery in 1987. Although the Eph/ephrin system has been implicated in pathological settings such as Alzheimer's disease and cancer, the molecular mechanism of the Eph/ephrin system in those diseases is not well understood. Especially in cancer, recent studies have demonstrated that most of Eph and ephrin are up- or down-regulated in various types of cancer, and have been implicated in tumor progression, tumor malignancy, and prognosis. However, they lack consistency and are in controversy. The localization patterns of EphA1 and EphA2 in mouse lungs are very similar, and both knockout mice showed similar phenotypes in the lungs. Ephrin-A1 that is a membrane-anchored ligand for EphAs was co-localized with EphA1 and EphA2 in lung vascular endothelial cells. We recently uncovered the molecular mechanism of ephrin-A1-induced lung metastasis by understanding the physiological function of ephrin-A1 in lungs. This review focuses on the function of EphA1, EphA2, and ephrin-A1 in tumors and an establishment of pre-metastatic microenvironment in the lungs.