Using a novel 3-D cell culture system called Cellbed to mimic cancer cell morphology, a team headed by Ken-ichi Mukaisho at Shiga University of Medical Science, Japan found that ERKs activate cortactin (a protein located in the cell cytoplasm) and contribute to the formation of invadopodia (invasive cell protrusions associated with cancer cells) in tongue cancer cells and tumor development. Here, CTTN is linked to cancer.