PTEN: A new player controlling structural and functional synaptic plasticity

摘要

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) is a ubiquitous enzyme that catalyses the phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) into phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP_3). PI 3-kinase driven generation of PIP_3 activates various downstream signalling cascades which in turn regulate numerous biological processes including growth, metabolism, proliferation, migration and cell size. PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10), which was originally identified as a tumour promoter, is a constitutively active lipid phosphatase that opposes PI 3-kinase-dependent signalling by promoting dephosphorylation of PIP3 into PIP_2. PTEN is highly expressed in neurons and several lines of evidence support a role for PTEN in regulating important neuronal functions.