Adherens junctional associated protein-1: A novel 1p36 tumor suppressor candidate in gliomas

In a broad range of human cancers 1p36 has been a mutational hotspot which strongly suggests that the loss of tumor suppressor activity maps to this genomic region during tumorigenesis. Adherens junctional associated protein-1 (AJAP1; also known as Shrew1) was initially discovered as a novel transmembrane protein of adherent junctions in epithelial cells. Gene profiling showed AJAP1 on 1p36 is frequently lost or epigenetically silenced. AJAP1 may affect cell motility, migration, invasion and proliferation by unclear mechanisms. AJAP1 may be translocated to the nucleus, via its interaction with β-catenin complexes, where it can regulate gene transcription, then possibly have a potent impact on cell cycling and apoptosis. Significantly, loss of AJAP1 expression predicts poor clinical outcome of patients with malignant gliomas such as GBM and it may serve as a promising tumor suppressor-related target. In this review, we summarize and discuss current knowledge that may identify AJAP1 as a tumor suppressor in gliomas.