SLC9A1 and cancer: On the other hand, the mechanisms described for the α-subunits in cancer include the dysregulation of sodium homeostasis, depolarization of the cell membrane, F-actin polymerization, invadopodial formation, Na+/H+ exchanger type 1 (NHE-1) allosteric modulation and enhanced secretion and activity of extracellular matrix proteases [7,12,13,14,15,16,17].