Carmen Ferreira

By Giselle Z. Justo, Ana C. S. Souza, Ângelo de Fátima, Matheus F. F. Pedrosa, Carmen V. Ferreira and Hugo A. O. Rocha

Part of the book: Biological Diversity and Sustainable Resources Use

By Carmen Veríssima Ferreira, Renato Milani, Willian Fernando Zambuzzi, Thomas Martin Halder, Eduardo Galembeck and Hiroshi Aoyama

Part of the book: Prostate Cancer

By Carmen V. Ferreira-Halder, Stefano Piatto Clerici, Alessandra V. Sousa Faria, Patrícia Fernandes de Souza Oliveira, Helon Guimarães Cordeiro and Erica Akagi

Reversible phosphorylation of proteins, executed by kinases and phosphatases, is the major posttranslational protein modification in eukaryotic cells, causing them to become activated or deactivated. This intracellular event represents a critical regulatory mechanism of several signaling pathways and can be related to a broad number of diseases, including cancer. Few decades ago, protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) were considered as tumor suppressors. However, nowadays, accumulating evidence demonstrates that a misregulation of PTP activities plays a crucial and decisive role in cancer progression and metastasis. In this chapter, we will focus on the molecular aspects that support the crucial role of PTPs in cancer and in turn make them promising for prediction, monitoring, and rational appropriate therapy selection of individual patients.

Part of the book: Tumor Progression and Metastasis