SLC39A6

Solute carrier family 39 member 6 (SLC39A6), also known as Zinc transporter ZIP6 or Estrogen-regulated protein LIV-1, is a protein that belongs to a subfamily of proteins that show structural characteristics of zinc transporters. The LIV-1 subfamily of ZIP zinc transporters consists of nine human sequences that share considerable homology across transmembrane domains. Those transmembrane domains are mainly situated on the plasma membrane and transport zinc into cells.

This protein is highly expressed in a variety of normal tissues including the breast, prostate, pituitary, kidney, placenta and corpus callosum, but its expression is found to be quite low in heart and intestine. What's more, SLC39A6 protein is reported to be estrogen regulated and present in increased amounts in estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer as well as in tumors that spread to the lymph nodes. Due to the high expression in certain tumor cells, LIV-1 has emerged as an important target for cancer immunotherapy strategies, such as antibody and ADC (antibody-drug conjugate). SGN-LIV1A is an ADC designed to targeting LIV-1 proteins and it is being evaluated in a phase 1 clinical trial for patients with LIV-1-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Gene ID: 25800
UniProt ID: Q13433