Background:
Interaction of a cell with the extracellular matrix triggers integrin cell surface receptors to begin signaling cascades that regulate the organization of the actin-cytoskeleton. One of the proteins involved in these cascades is focal adhesion kinase. The protein encoded by this gene is a GTPase activating protein that binds to focal adhesion kinase and mediates the activity of the GTP binding proteins RhoA and Cdc42. Defects in this gene are a cause of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML). Multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq; Mar 217]