PTPN18 - protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 18 Gene

The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the protein tyrosine Phosphatase (PTP) family. PTPs are known to be signaling molecules that regulate a variety of cellular processes including cell growth, differentiation, the mitotic cycle, and oncogenic transformation. This PTP contains a PEST motif, which often serves as a protein-protein interaction domain, and may be related to protein intracellular half-live. This protein can differentially dephosphorylate autophosphorylated tyrosine kinases that are overexpressed in tumor tissues, and it appears to regulate HER2, a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family of Receptor Tyrosine Kinases. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Nov 2008]