The Role of 80K/MARCKS, a Specific Substrate of Protein Kinase C, in Cell Growth and Tumour Progression

Since its discovery more than a decade ago [Wu et al., 1982; Rozengurt et al., 1983], the 80-87 kDa myristoylated alpha lanine-rich C-kinase substrate (80K/MARCKS) protein has attracted a great deal of attention from researchers interested in cell growth and tumour progression. However, despite its ubiquitous distribution, a definitive functional role for 80K/MARCKS has not been found. The purpose of this review is to describe the properties, distribution and regulation of 80K/MARCKS and to discuss some of the most recent findings, both from our laboratory and from others, that have suggested a functional role for this protein in modulating cell growth and tumour progression. Furthermore, I will present data from our laboratory that implicates 80K/MARCKS as a novel tumour suppressor in cells of melanocyte origin.