TSC2

By Christina Towers, PhD.

TSC2 is a tumor suppressor gene that encodes a 200 kDa protein called tuberin. TSC2 heterodimerizes with TSC1 to form a complex with GTPase-activating protein (GAP) activity. The C-terminus of TSC2 contains the GAP domain responsible for this catalytic activity. The complex was first discovered through its role in the tumor-forming condition Tuberous Sclerosis. Mutations in TSC1 and TSC2 can either destabilize the complex or compromise the GAP activity. The TSC1-TSC2 complex acts as a GAP for the small G-protein Rheb, expressed ubiquitously throughout the body (1).