PP2A in the regulation of cell motility and invasion

Cell motility is a very critical phenomenon that plays an important role in the development of eukaryotic organisms. One of the well studied cell motility phenomena is chemotaxis, which is described as a directional movement of cell in response to changes in external chemotactic gradient. Numerous studies conducted both in unicellular organism and in mammalian cells have demonstrated the importance of phosphatidylionositol-3 kinase (PI3K) in this process. In addition, it is now well established that although PI3K plays an activation role in chemotaxis, the role of phosphatases is also critical to maintain this dynamic cyclical process. Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a major serine/threonine phosphatase that is a key player in regulating PI3K signaling. PP2A is abundantly and ubiquitously expressed and has been highly conserved during the evolution of eukaryotes. PP2A is composed of three protein subunits, A, B, and C. Subunit 'A' is a 60-65 kDa structural component, 'C' is a 36-38 kDa catalytic subunit, and 'B' is a 54-130 kDa regulatory subunit. The core complex of PP2A is comprised of the A and C subunits, which are tightly associated and this dimeric core complexes with the regulatory B subunit. The B subunit determines the substrate specificity as well as the spatial and temporal functions of PP2A. PP2A plays an important role in regulating multiple signal transduction pathways, including cell-cycle regulation, cell-growth and development, cytoskeleton dynamics, and cell motility. This review focuses on the role of PP2A in regulating motility of normal and transformed cells.