title: Phosphorylated T567 ezrin is associated with merlin expression in KIT-mutant             gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
abstract: Membrane-cytoskeleton linker organizer ezrin is a member of the ERM (ezrin-radixin-moesin)             protein family. It has been suggested as an important element in the oncogenic             process, particularly in conferring a metastatic ability on tumor cells. We hypothesized             that the KIT oncogenic form is one of the proteins that modulates expression of             the ezrin protein via phosphorylated ezrin at different residues; furthermore,             it may interact with the protein merlin, and promoting tumor development via the             PI3K or MAPK pathway. In the present study, we observed that differential expression             of ezrin was a common feature in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). We further             demonstrated that cases exhibiting expression of phosphorylated Thr567 in the             ezrin protein were associated with immunoactivities of KIT and merlin expression             (p=0.039 and 0.013, respectively). In conclusion, GISTs harbor activation of KIT             protein may induce phosphorylation of the downstream protein ezrin at certain             residues, thereby triggering subsequent signal transduction cascades and driving             downstream pathways of tumor progression. However, a larger series of tumor samples             should be analyzed in future studies, as well as the identification of phosphorylated             sites to determine the role of ezrin in tumor progression thus shedding light             on clinical outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Graduate Institute of Biotechnology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan, ROC. wwhlab@gmail.com
authors.forename: Wen-Hui
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.forename: Chun-Nan
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Yung-Feng
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Govinda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lenka
authors.forename: Yi-Wei
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Liaw
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D046152:Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D009154:Mutation; D025581:Neurofibromin 2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000099149:Ezrin
chemical_list: D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D025581:Neurofibromin 2; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit; D000099149:Ezrin