NF2 and cancer: Visual inspection of available crystal structures of Merlin (PDB 4ZRJ) revealed that L46R and A211D cancer-associated missense mutations were located on α-helices embedded in hydrophobic pockets of the Merlin FERM domain, suggesting that charged amino acid substitutions of L46 or A211 may destabilize the secondary structure of the protein (Fig. 3a, b).