Myosin Light Chains in the Progression of Cancer.

The myosin light chains (MLCs) of non-muscle myosin II are known to regulate cellular architecture and generate cellular forces; they also have an increasingly emerging role in the progression of cancer. The phosphorylation state of the myosin light chains controls the activity of myosins that are implicated in invasion and proliferation. In cancers, when proliferation is greatly increased, cytokinesis relies on phosphorylated light chains to activate the contractile forces used to separate the cells.