Heterotrimeric G proteins mediate myriads of cell functions including control of
cancer cell proliferation and migration. The family of the Regulators of
G protein Signaling (
RGS) proteins, in turn, controls the activity of
G proteins through the acceleration of
GTPase activity of the alpha subunits of
G proteins. Increasing evidence suggest that the expression of certain
RGS proteins is changed dramatically in various
cancers, and in some instances, the control of
cancer cell proliferation or migration by
RGS proteins has been demonstrated. We assessed if common trends might exist in the expression of various
RGS proteins in several types of
cancer by examining microarray data using the Oncomine database. We focused on the largest R4 sub-family of
RGS proteins, containing RGS1, RGS2, RGS3, RGS4, RGS5, RGS8, RGS13, RGS16 and RGS18. This analysis suggests that a number (up to 6) of RGS transcripts are exclusively downregulated in certain
cancers, while being exclusively upregulated in other
cancer types. Furthermore, significant changes in the expression of certain
RGS proteins trended toward the same direction across various
cancers. To illustrate, RGS1 is largely upregulated, whereas RGS2 is downregulated in the majority of solid
tumors, whereas RGS5 transcripts are greatly increased in eight subtypes of
lymphoma with no reports of downregulation in
hematological malignancies. Together, these data suggest that (i)
RGS proteins may have a combined and cell-specific role in a control of
cancer cell function, and (ii) a given RGS
protein may regulate the progression of various
cancers through a common mechanism.