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Regulatory roles of tumor‐suppressor proteins and noncoding RNA in cancer and normal cell functions
Author(s) -
Garen Alan,
Song Xu
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.23285
Subject(s) - biology , carcinogenesis , rna , transcription (linguistics) , non coding rna , psychological repression , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , cell growth , rna binding protein , gene expression , regulation of gene expression , long non coding rna , transcription factor , genetics , linguistics , philosophy
Abstract We describe a mechanism for reversible regulation of gene transcription, mediated by a family of tumor‐suppressor proteins (TSP) containing a DNA‐binding domain (DBD) that binds to a gene and represses transcription, and RNA‐binding domains (RBDs) that bind RNA, usually a noncoding RNA (ncRNA), forming a TSP/RNA complex that releases the TSP from a gene and reverses repression. This mechanism appears to be involved in the regulation of embryogenesis, oncogenesis, and steroidogenesis. Embryonic cells express high levels of RNA that bind to a TSP and prevent repression of proto‐oncogenes that drive cell proliferation. The level of the RNA subsequently decreases in most differentiating cells, enabling a TSP to repress proto‐oncogenes and stop cell proliferation. Oncogenesis can result when the level of the RNA fails to decrease in a proliferating cell or increases in a differentiated cell. This mechanism also regulates transcription of P450scc , the first gene in the steroidogenic pathway. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.