Interestingly, short interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated REP1 knockdown-induced growth inhibition of cancer cell lines via downregulation of EGFR and inactivation of STAT3, but had a negligible effect on normal cell lines.
Therefore, REP1-mediated autophagy and lysosomal degradation processes act as novel regulatory mechanisms to support cancer cell survival, which can be further investigated as a potential cancer-targeting pathway.
Although it is postulated that REP1 has functions in cell survival or death of various tissues in addition to the eye, how REP1 functions in normal and cancer cells remains to be elucidated.