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Cancer

Precise control of localized signals

Nature volume 522, pages 38–40 (2015)Cite this article

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The tumour-suppressor protein PTEN is mostly found in the cell cytoplasm, tethered to endosome vesicles. This localization regulates the enzyme's activity towards specific lipids and influences its control of cell growth.

Loss of function of the PTEN tumour-suppressor protein is a common feature of many types of human cancer, including glioblastoma and prostate, kidney, thyroid and breast tumours1. In addition to genetic alterations occurring in sporadic tumours, germline mutations in the gene that encodes PTEN cause the group of disorders known as PTEN hamartoma tumour syndromes, which are characterized by benign tumours throughout the body and increased incidence of breast, thyroid and brain cancers1. Since the discovery of this protein, the subcellular localization of PTEN has been investigated as a plausible means for its regulation. Writing in Molecular Cell, Naguib et al.2 examine the biology of the abundant PTEN pool in the cell cytoplasm.

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Figure 1: Endosomal PTEN in PIP3 control.

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  1. and in the Department of Medical Biophysics, Vuk Stambolic is at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto M5G 1L7, Canada.,

    Vuk Stambolic

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  1. Vuk Stambolic
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Stambolic, V. Precise control of localized signals. Nature 522, 38–40 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14531

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