A highlight on Sonic hedgehog pathway

Abstract

Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway plays an essential role during vertebrate embryonic development and tumorigenesis. It is already known that Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway is important for the evolution of radio and chemo-resistance of several types of tumors. Most of the brain tumors are resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs, consequently, they have a poor prognosis. So, a better knowledge of the Shh pathway opens an opportunity for targeted therapies against brain tumors considering a multi-factorial molecular overview. Therefore, emerging studies are being conducted in order to find new inhibitors for Shh signaling pathway, which could be safely used in clinical trials. Shh can signal through a canonical and non-canonical way, and it also has important points of interaction with other pathways during brain tumorigenesis. So, a better knowledge of Shh signaling pathway opens an avenue of possibilities for the treatment of not only for brain tumors but also for other types of cancers. In this review, we will also highlight some clinical trials that use the Shh pathway as a target for treating brain cancer.