Open AccessThe role of the small GTP ase Rab31 in cancer
Author(s) -
Chua Christelle En Lin,
Tang Bor Luen
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of cellular and molecular medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.44
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1582-4934
pISSN - 1582-1838
DOI - 10.1111/jcmm.12403
Subject(s) - rab , carcinogenesis , cancer research , signal transduction , biology , guanine nucleotide exchange factor , cancer , g protein , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , endocrinology , gtpase
Members of the small GTP ase family Rab are emerging as potentially important factors in cancer development and progression. A good number of Rabs have been implicated or associated with various human cancers, and much recent excitement has been associated with the roles of the Rab11 subfamily member Rab25 and its effector, the Rab coupling protein ( RCP ), in tumourigenesis and metastasis. In this review, we focus on a Rab5 subfamily member, Rab31, and its implicated role in cancer. Well recognized as a breast cancer marker with good prognostic value, recent findings have provided some insights as to the mechanism underlying Rab31's influence on oncogenesis. Levels of Oestrogen Receptor α ( ER α)‐ responsive Rab31 could be elevated through stabilization of its transcript by the RNA binding protein HuR, or though activation by the oncoprotein mucin1‐C ( MUC 1‐C), which forms a transcriptional complex with ER α. Elevated Rab31 stabilizes MUC 1‐C levels in an auto‐inductive loop that could lead to aberrant signalling and gene expression associated with cancer progression. Rab31 and its guanine nucleotide exchange factor GAP ex‐5 have, however, also been shown to enhance early endosome‐late endosome transport and degradation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The multifaceted action and influences of Rab31 in cancer is discussed in the light of its new interacting partners and pathways.