FoxO family members in cancer

Abstract

The PI3K-Akt-FoxO signaling pathway plays a central role in diverse physiological processes including cellular energy storage, growth and survival, among others. As an important effector of this pathway, FoxO is involved in versatile activities that protect organisms from stress and aging. Recent studies on mammalian FoxO have established a direct role for this transcription factor family in cellular proliferation, oxidative stress response and tumorigenesis. The review will focus on the recent developments pertaining to the function of FoxO as well as discuss the various contexts in which FoxO exerts distinct biological activity such as drug resistance and autophagy in cancer pathogenesis and therapy. © 2011 Landes Bioscience.