p21-Activated Kinases in Thyroid Cancer.

Endocrinology

Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, and Cancer Biology Program, The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Arthur G. James Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, Ohio.

Published: August 2020

The family of p21-activated kinases (PAKs) are oncogenic proteins that regulate critical cellular functions. PAKs play central signaling roles in the integrin/CDC42/Rho, ERK/MAPK, PI3K/AKT, NF-κB, and Wnt/β-catenin pathways, functioning both as kinases and scaffolds to regulate cell motility, mitosis and proliferation, cytoskeletal rearrangement, and other cellular activities. PAKs have been implicated in both the development and progression of a wide range of cancers, including breast cancer, pancreatic melanoma, thyroid cancer, and others. Here we will discuss the current knowledge on the structure and biological functions of both group I and group II PAKs, as well as the roles that PAKs play in oncogenesis and progression, with a focus on thyroid cancer and emerging data regarding BRAF/PAK signaling.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7417880PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/endocr/bqaa105DOI Listing

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