PTEN and signal transduction and tumor

PTEN is a candidate tumor suppressor which has sequence homology withdual-specifici-ty phosphatase. PTEN is a multifunctional protein endowed with a phosphatase activity capable of dephosphory-lating both tyrosine phosphate, serine/threonine phosphate residues on proteins and phospholipids of the phosphati dylinositol pathway. PTEN appears to be mutated at considerable frequency in several types of humantumors, including those frombrain, breast, endometrium, and prostate. PTEN play an important role in pathogenesis of tumor, tumor cell invasion and metastasis. In this review, we will discuss the chemical structure of PTEN, its phosphatase activity, the ability of affecting signal transduction, and its mutational status in cancer.