AFAP1L1 (actin filament associated protein 1 like 1) is an adaptor protein that plays crucial roles in cellular motility, invasion, and pathological processes. The protein functions as an actin-binding molecule that localizes to invadosomes and podosomes, specialized cellular structures involved in matrix degradation and cell invasion 1. Unlike its family member AFAP1, AFAP1L1 efficiently interacts with cortactin's SH3 domain and can induce podosome formation upon overexpression 1. AFAP1L1 promotes cancer progression through multiple mechanisms: it interacts with VAV2 to activate CDC42-mediated ITGA5 signaling, leading to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in gastric cancer 2, and associates with vinculin to modulate cellular morphology and motility in colorectal cancers 3. The protein contains phosphotyrosine motifs that bind Vav2 and Nck2 SH2 domains, creating a signaling pathway that controls invadopodia formation and cell migration in sarcomas 4. In pathological angiogenesis, AFAP1L1 acts as a hypoxia-induced regulatory protein activated by HIF-1α, promoting neovascularization through the YAP-DLL4-NOTCH axis 5. Additionally, AFAP1L1 enhances cell proliferation and survival in non-small cell lung cancer by modulating cell cycle progression and apoptosis 6.