Signaling from the Golgi: mechanisms and models for Golgi phosphoprotein 3-mediated oncogenesis.

Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3; also known as GPP34/GMx33/MIDAS) represents an exciting new class of oncoproteins involved in vesicular trafficking. Encoded by a gene residing on human chromosome 5p13, which is frequently amplified in multiple solid tumor types, GOLPH3 was initially discovered as a phosphorylated protein localized to the Golgi apparatus. Recent functional, cell biological, and biochemical analyses show that GOLPH3 can function as an oncoprotein to promote cell transformation and tumor growth by enhancing activity of the mammalian target of rapamycin, a serine/threonine protein kinase known to regulate cell growth, proliferation, and survival. Although its precise mode of action in cancer remains to be elucidated, the fact that GOLPH3 has been implicated in protein trafficking, receptor recycling, and glycosylation points to potential links of these cellular processes to tumorigenesis. Understanding how these processes may be deregulated and contribute to cancer pathogenesis and drug response will uncover new avenues for therapeutic intervention.