Rap1GAP is thought of as a putative tumor suppressor gene and plays an important role in human tumor progression including pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer and melanoma.
These findings identify SRC as a target of RAP1GAP depletion and suggest that the downregulation of RAP1GAP in thyroid tumors enhances SRC-dependent signals that regulate cellular architecture and motility.
In this study, we analyzed 197 thyroid tumor samples and showed that Rap1GAP was frequently lost or downregulated in various types of tumors, particularly in the most invasive and aggressive forms of thyroid cancer.
The more frequent and greater down-regulation of Rap1GAP in PTCs compared with adenomas suggests a role for Rap1GAP depletion in the progression of human thyroid tumors, possibly through unrestrained Rap activity.