LKB1 conundrum: LKB1 in thyroid cancer
LKB1 conundrum: LKB1 in thyroid cancer LKB1 is a known tumor suppressor. first identified in Peutz Jeghers Syndrome, characterized by general hamartomatous polyposis leading to the formation of multiple tumors at several sites in the body. Loss or inactivation of LKB1 has been shown in lung cancer and other organ systems confirming its role as a tumor suppressor. LKB1 is known to act as a tumor suppressor through various different mechanisms. One of the important mechanisms being activation of downstream tumor suppressor, AMPK. AMPK in turn inhibits mTOR which is important for regulation of metabolic pathways in tumor cells. However, recent evidence suggests that AMPK might not be a tumor suppressor but promote tumor growth under certain contexts. There are reports suggesting both AMPK and mTOR to be active in tumors without compromising the action of one another. This is turn also applies to the protein upstream of AMPK, i.e. LKB1. Therefore both LKB1-AMPK have now been termed as cont...