Preventing the Activation or Cycling of the Rap1 GTPase Alters Adhesion and Cytoskeletal Dynamics and Blocks Metastatic Melanoma Cell Extravasation into the lungs.

Authors: Spencer Freeman, Sarah McLeod, Janet Dukowski, Pamela Austin and Crystal Lee. Labs of Mike Gold and Calvin Roskelley, Infection, Inflammation & Immunity (I3) and Cell and Developmental Biology (CELL) Research Groups, Departments of Microbiology & Immunology and Cellular & Physiological Sciences.

Published in Cancer Res June 1, 2010 vol. 70 no. 11 4590-4601 doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-3414

Abstract: This study elucidates a small GTPase-regulated pathway required for cancer cells to undergo critical steps involved in tumor metastasis, specifically their ability to migrate across endothelial cell layers, exit the vasculature, and invade the underlying tissue.