RHO GTPases have been traditionally associated with protumorigenic functions. While this paradigm is still valid in many cases, recent data have unexpectedly revealed that RHO proteins can also play tumor suppressor roles. RHO signaling elements can also promote both pro- and antitumorigenic effects using GTPase-independent mechanisms, thus giving an extra layer of complexity to the role of these proteins in cancer. Consistent with these variegated roles, both gain- and loss-of-function mutations in RHO pathway genes have been found in cancer patients. Collectively, these observations challenge long-held functional archetypes for RHO proteins in both normal and cancer cells. In this review, I will summarize these data and discuss new questions arising from them such as the functional and clinical relevance of the mutations found in patients, the mechanistic orchestration of those antagonistic functions in tumors, and the pros and cons that these results represent for the development of RHO-based anticancer drugs.
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June 2018
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The structure of a Nucleosome, in which DNA is wrapped around a histone core. In this issue of Biochemical Society Transactions, Taniguchi et al. review recent advances in exploring Nucleosome-level 3D organization of the genome; for details see pages 491–501.
Review Article|
June 05 2018
RHO GTPases in cancer: known facts, open questions, and therapeutic challenges
Xosé R. Bustelo
1Centro de Investigación del Cáncer, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer, and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)–University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
Correspondence: Xosé R. Bustelo (xbustelo@usal.es)
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
March 12 2018
Revision Received:
April 17 2018
Accepted:
May 03 2018
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© 2018 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society
2018
Biochem Soc Trans (2018) 46 (3): 741–760.
Article history
Received:
March 12 2018
Revision Received:
April 17 2018
Accepted:
May 03 2018
Citation
Xosé R. Bustelo; RHO GTPases in cancer: known facts, open questions, and therapeutic challenges. Biochem Soc Trans 19 June 2018; 46 (3): 741–760. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20170531
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