PTEN: a default gate-keeping tumor suppressor with a versatile tail

• 来源期刊: 细胞研究（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2008,（8）
• 页码范围: 807-816
• 页数: 10页
• 语种: 英文

摘要

The tumor suppressor PTEN controls a variety of biological processes including cell proliferation, growth, migration, and death. As a master cellular regulator, PTEN itself is also subjected to deliberated regulation to ensure its proper function. Defects in PTEN regulation have a profound impact on carcinogenesis. In this review, we briefly discuss recent advances concerning PTEN regulation and how such knowledge facilitates our understanding and further exploration of PTEN biology. The carboxyl-tail of PTEN, which appears to be associated with multiple types of posttranslational regulation, will be under detailed scrutiny. Further, a comparative analysis of PTEN and p53 suggests while p53 needs to be activated to suppress tumorigenesis (a dormant gatekeeper), PTEN is probably a constitutive surveillant against cancer development, thus a default gatekeeper.