Acidosis promotes tumorigenesis by activating AKT/NF-κB signaling

The microenvironment of solid tumors is often acidic due to poor vascular perfusion, regional hypoxia, and increased glycolytic activity of tumor cells. Although acidosis is harmful to most types of cells, tumor cells seem well adapted to such harsh conditions. Moreover, overwhelming evidence indicates that tumor cells are more invasive and more aggressive in acidic conditions by a cascade of cell signaling and upregulation of oncogenic gene expression. Therefore, how extracellular acidic signals are transduced to the cytoplasm and then into the nucleus is an interesting topic to many cancer researchers. In this review, we update on the recent advances in acidosis-induced tumorigenesis through the acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) and activation of cell signaling.