LIV-1 (SLC39A6)
LIV-1 is an oestrogen-regulated zinc transporter on most breast cancers; the ADC against it (ladiratuzumab vedotin) showed activity in triple-negative disease but was discontinued in 2024.
LIV-1 is expressed in >90% of breast cancers including ~70% of TNBC, and in prostate, melanoma and cervical cancers. Ladiratuzumab vedotin (SGN-LIV1A, MMAE payload) produced ~25-30% responses in pretreated metastatic breast cancer and was tested with pembrolizumab; Pfizer discontinued it in 2024 after acquiring Seagen. The target remains validated for next-generation ADCs and radioligands.
- Target · the protein and the cell it sits on
- Drug · antibody, small molecule, cell or radioligand
- Effect · signal, damage or kill
In plain words · LIV-1 is an oestrogen-regulated zinc transporter on most breast cancers; the ADC against it (ladiratuzumab vedotin) showed activity in triple-negative disease but was discontinued in 2024.
- 1 · What it is
LIV-1 is an oestrogen-regulated zinc transporter on most breast cancers; the ADC against it (ladiratuzumab vedotin) showed activity in triple-negative disease but was discontinued in 2024.
- 2 · What goes wrong in cancer
Zinc transporter of the ZIP family (SLC39A6) that localises to the plasma membrane, imports zinc and promotes EMT via STAT3/Snail; transcriptionally induced by oestrogen (hence LIV-1, from ER+ breast cancer lines).
- 3 · How drugs use it
No product in this corpus aims at LIV-1 (SLC39A6) yet. Because it sits on the outside of the cell, it can be reached from the bloodstream: antibodies flag the cell, ADCs deliver a toxin, radioligands deliver radiation, and CAR-T or bispecifics bring a T cell.
Biology
Zinc transporter of the ZIP family (SLC39A6) that localises to the plasma membrane, imports zinc and promotes EMT via STAT3/Snail; transcriptionally induced by oestrogen (hence LIV-1, from ER+ breast cancer lines).
- Breast cancer (>90% HR+, ~70% TNBC)
- Prostate cancer
- Cervical, melanoma, pancreatic cancer (subsets)
Latest papers
topQuery for this target: (TITLE:"LIV-1" OR ABSTRACT:"LIV-1" OR TITLE:"SLC39A6" OR ABSTRACT:"SLC39A6") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about LIV-1 (SLC39A6), not a curated reading list.