Ezrin-associated signal transduction in tumor invasion and metastasis

Ezrin is an important membrane-cytoskeleton linker protein.It is highly related with tumor invasion and metastasis and indicates poor prognosis.It is reported that aberrant Ezrin expressed in many carcinomas,such as osteosarcoma and breast carcinoma.However,the complex mechanisms of Ezrin in tumor invasion and metastasis remain unclear.It is involved in several different tumor associated signal pathway based on different tumor types,including adhesion molecule signal transduction,Rho and Akt signal transduction.Therefore,research on the signal transduction of Ezrin has great significance for the understanding of cancer progression and Ezrin is probable to be a new treatment target. Key words: Phosphoproteins; Neolpasm metastasis; Prognosis; Signal transduction