PTEN-Long can enter U87 cells even when fused to rather large, ~25kD RFP tag. This suggest PTEN-Long can have the potential to deliver other tumor suppressors which increases its potential as a therapeutic reagent against cancer.

The Role of PTEN-L in Cancer Biology

Following the discovery of PTEN-Long (PTEN-L), the uptake of PTEN-L by cells and its consequences has become a focus of our research. By analyzing the uptake of PTEN-L tagged with RFP, we are hoping to explain the uptake mechanism and find out potential receptor that may facilitate the process. These studies can let us understand the resistance against the PTEN-L treatment shown by some cancer cells and meanwhile optimize the usage of PTEN-L as a potential therapeutic agent against cancer.

We are working on transgenic mice that are engineered to lack or over express PTEN-L in order to characterize their phenotypes. In addition we are developing methods to express and purify PTEN-L in order to study how they function to regulate signaling and cell growth.