FUNCTIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF INTERACTION BETWEEN MRPS18-2 AND RB PROTEINS UPON CELL TRANSFORMATION

The article is devoted to analyzing the literature data and the presentation of its own data about of previously unknown functions of the mitochondrial ribosomal protein S18-2, which is encoded by the nuclear genome. Here, we describe that RB and S18-2 proteins cooperate in maintaining of a stem cell phenotype; imbalance in their expression might lead to tumor development. The functional consequences of the RB-S18-2 interaction in the control on cell stemness and their differentiation were also analyzed. Evidences are presented that the S18-2 protein is a potent oncoprotein. We may suggest that reducing levels of the S18-2 protein might be a putative strategy for treating malignancies.