Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 18, 2026

Assessing Cellular Target Engagement by SHP2 PTPN11 Phosphatase Inhibitors
Published on: July 17, 2020
Dual-Specificity Protein Phosphatases Targeting Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinases: Friends or Foes in the
Alessandro Tubita1, Dimitri Papini1, Ignazia Tusa1
1Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences "Mario Serio", University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy.
Abstract:
Dual-specificity protein phosphatases (DUSPs) are a family of proteins that dephosphorylate both phospho-serine/threonine and phospho-tyrosine residues of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs). MAPKs are involved in a large number of cellular processes, including proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and stress responses. Therefore, dysregulation or improper functioning of the MAPK signalling is involved in the onset and progression of several diseases, including cancer. Likewise, dysregulation of DUSPs markedly affects cancer biology. The importance of MAPKs in the modulation of tumour development has been known for a long time, and MAPKs are consistently used as molecular targets for cancer therapy. However, in the last decade, DUSPs have acquired a greater interest as possible therapeutic targets to regulate MAPK activity and to prevent resistance mechanisms to MAPK-targeting therapies. Moreover, the possibility of exploiting DUSPs as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of specific types of cancer is also emerging. In this review, we report what is known in the literature on the role of DUSPs in cancer onset and progression, focusing on those targeting the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), in particular ERK1/2 and ERK5 conventional MAPKs. The specific role of each ERK-targeting DUSP in supporting or hampering cancer progression in the context of different types of cancer is also discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Amplifying Signals via Enzymatic Cascade
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Transducer Mechanism: Enzyme-Linked Receptors
Major types that are helpful drug targets include:
Protein Kinases and Phosphatases
Protein kinases
Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...
Protein Kinases and Phosphatases

