Regulation of the cytoskeleton: an oncogenic function for CDK inhibitors?

Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CKIs) are well known inhibitors of cell proliferation. Their activity is disrupted in many tumour types. Recent studies show that some of these proteins have interesting alternative functions, acting in the cytoplasm to regulate Rho signalling and thereby controlling cytoskeletal organization and cell migration. The upregulation of CKIs in the cytoplasm of many cancer cells indicates that although loss of nuclear CKIs is important for cancer cell proliferation, gain of cytoplasmic CKI function might be involved in tumour invasion and metastasis.