Research progress of Merlin protein and its signal pathway in tumor

: Hippo signaling pathway was first found in drosophila, and was proved to participate in regulatory of cell proliferation, cell apoptosis and organ size in multicellular animals. Compared with Hippo/Mst to YAP/Yki phosphorylation of the core kinase cascade, upstream the protein interaction of Hippo kinase cascade has rarely been studied. Early studies in drosophila have shown that apical membrane associated FERM domain protein Merlin and its extension may be upstream of the Hippo pathway as a signaling pathway component. Recently, increasing researches showed that Merlin protein has a close relationship with tumor occurrence. As upstream regulatory molecule and the core in Hippo signaling pathway, the mutation or deletion of Merlin can increase oncogene Yap/Yki expression, and then contribute to tumor progression. It ultimately affects the patients' prognosis. To clarify the relationship between Merlin(NF2) and malignant tumor will be helpful for the prevention and treatment of cancer. This article revivewed the latest research progress of Merlin(NF2) protein.