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PMID: 29385717 Published · epublish English Journal Article Review

RhoB: Team Oncogene or Team Tumor Suppressor?

Genes ·Vol. 9 ·No. 2 ·2018-01-30

Ju JA, Gilkes DM

Abstract

Although Rho GTPases RhoA, RhoB, and RhoC share more than 85% amino acid sequence identity, they play very distinct roles in tumor progression. RhoA and RhoC have been suggested in many studies to contribute positively to tumor development, but the role of RhoB in cancer remains elusive. RhoB contains a unique C-terminal region that undergoes specific post-translational modifications affecting its localization and function. In contrast to RhoA and RhoC, RhoB not only localizes at the plasma membrane, but also on endosomes, multivesicular bodies and has even been identified in the nucleus. These unique features are what contribute to the diversity and potentially opposing functions of RhoB in the tumor microenvironment. Here, we discuss the dualistic role that RhoB plays as both an oncogene and tumor suppressor in the context of cancer development and progression.

Keywords
Rho GTPases RhoB cancer progression oncogene oncojanus genes tumor suppressor genes
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Ju Julia A
Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA. jju4@jhu.edu. | Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. jju4@jhu.edu.
Gilkes Daniele M
Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA. dgilkes1@jhu.edu. | Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. dgilkes1@jhu.edu.
Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Article Info
Journal
Genes
Abbr.
Genes (Basel)
ISSN
2073-4425
DOI
10.3390/genes9020067
Email
jju4@jhu.edu
dgilkes1@jhu.edu
Published
2018-01-30
Epub
2018-00-30
Language
English
Region
Switzerland
NLM ID
101551097
PMCID
PMC5852563
Grants
NCI NIH HHS · R00 CA181352 · United States
NCI NIH HHS · U54 CA210173 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.3390/genes9020067 PMC Full Text View journal details
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