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Pak protein kinases and their role in cancer

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Abstract

Some of the characteristics of cancer cells are high rates of cell proliferation, cell survival, and the ability to invade surrounding tissue. The cytoskeleton has an essential role in these processes. Dynamic changes in the cytoskeleton are necessary for cell motility and cancer cells are dependent on motility for invasion and metastasis. The signaling pathways behind the reshaping and migrating properties of the cytoskeleton in cancer cells involve a group of Ras-related small GTPases and their effectors, including the p21-activated kinases (Paks). Paks are a family of serine/threonine protein kinases comprised of six isoforms (Pak 1–6), all of which are direct targets of the small GTPases Rac and Cdc42. Besides their role in cytoskeletal dynamics, Paks have recently been shown to regulate various other cellular activities, including cell survival, mitosis, and transcription. Paks are overexpressed and/or hyperactivated in several human tumors and their role in cell transformation makes them attractive therapeutic targets. Pak-targeted therapeutics may efficiently inhibit certain types of tumors and efforts to identify selective Pak-inhibitors are underway.

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Acknowledgments

J.F. is supported by a grant from the NIH (GM48241) and B.D. is supported by the Novartis Foundation and the Swiss National Foundation (PBBSA-120519).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Bettina Dummler & Jeffrey Field

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C., 20037, USA

    Kazufumi Ohshiro & Rakesh Kumar

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  1. Bettina Dummler
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  2. Kazufumi Ohshiro
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  4. Jeffrey Field
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Correspondence to Jeffrey Field.

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Dummler, B., Ohshiro, K., Kumar, R. et al. Pak protein kinases and their role in cancer. Cancer Metastasis Rev 28, 51–63 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10555-008-9168-1

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