PTPN12 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, mitotic cycle, and oncogenic transformation. PTPN12 contains a C-terminal PEST motif, which serves as a protein–protein interaction domain, and may be related to protein intracellular half-life. PTPN12 was found to bind and dephosphorylate the product of oncogene c-ABL, thus may play a role in oncogenesis. PTPN12 was shown to interact with, and dephosphorylate, various of cytoskeleton and cell adhesion molecules, such as p130 (Cas), CAKbeta/PTK2B, PSTPIP1, and paxillin, which suggested its regulatory roles in controlling cell shape and mobilit.
