Glioblastomas on the move

The mechanism by which the tumor suppressor PTEN slows tumor cell migration is not well characterized. A recent study by Raftopoulou et al. shows that a lack of PTEN protein phosphatase activity accelerates the migration of glioblastoma cells. The protein phosphatase activity of PTEN is directly or indirectly responsible for dephosphorylating a PTEN residue, threonine-383, which is necessary for slowing cell migration. These findings have implications for the design of new therapies against glioblastomas and other highly invasive cancers.