A secreted PTEN phosphatase that enters cells to alter signaling and survival

BD Hopkins, B Fine, N Steinbach, M Dendy, Z Rapp… - Science, 2013 - science.org
BD Hopkins, B Fine, N Steinbach, M Dendy, Z Rapp, J Shaw, K Pappas, JS Yu, C Hodakoski…
Science, 2013science.org
Phosphatase and tensin homolog on chromosome ten (PTEN) is a tumor suppressor and an
antagonist of the phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) pathway. We identified a 576–amino
acid translational variant of PTEN, termed PTEN-Long, that arises from an alternative
translation start site 519 base pairs upstream of the ATG initiation sequence, adding 173 N-
terminal amino acids to the normal PTEN open reading frame. PTEN-Long is a membrane-
permeable lipid phosphatase that is secreted from cells and can enter other cells. As an …
Phosphatase and tensin homolog on chromosome ten (PTEN) is a tumor suppressor and an antagonist of the phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) pathway. We identified a 576–amino acid translational variant of PTEN, termed PTEN-Long, that arises from an alternative translation start site 519 base pairs upstream of the ATG initiation sequence, adding 173 N-terminal amino acids to the normal PTEN open reading frame. PTEN-Long is a membrane-permeable lipid phosphatase that is secreted from cells and can enter other cells. As an exogenous agent, PTEN-Long antagonized PI3K signaling and induced tumor cell death in vitro and in vivo. By providing a means to restore a functional tumor-suppressor protein to tumor cells, PTEN-Long may have therapeutic uses.
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