Novel missense mutation in the phosphatase PP2A catalytic subunit characterised in a solid tumour cell line

Abstract

Introduction: The protein serine/threonine phosphatase type 2A (pp2a) is a heterotrimer complex composed of a catalytic subunit (pp2aC), the scaffolding A subunit (pp2aA), and the variable B regulatory subunit. The pp2a complex attenuates the phosphorylation of various signals involved in cell survival and proliferation. Missense mutations in the coding sequence of the PPP2CA catalytic subunit were previously described, and studies of the pathological effects require further investigation. Of interest low pp2a activity was described as a potential mechanism of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia blast crisis, hence the use of the CML cell line, K562, as a model of pp2a studies. Increasing evidence show that decreased pp2a activity is implicated in the progression of multiple tumour types and provides a potential therapeutic target.