Open AccessOncogenic and tumor suppressor function of MEIS and associated factors
Author(s) -
Birkan Girgin,
Mediniye Karadag Alpaslan,
Fatih Kocabaş
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
turkish journal of biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.323
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1303-6092
pISSN - 1300-0152
DOI - 10.3906/biy-2006-25
Subject(s) - biology , downregulation and upregulation , carcinogenesis , cancer research , colorectal cancer , suppressor , cancer , glioma , genetics , gene
MEIS proteins are historically associated with tumorigenesis, metastasis, and invasion in cancer. MEIS and associated PBX-HOX proteins may act as tumor suppressors or oncogenes in different cellular settings. Their expressions tend to be misregulated in various cancers. Bioinformatic analyses have suggested their upregulation in leukemia/lymphoma, thymoma, pancreas, glioma, and glioblastoma, and downregulation in cervical, uterine, rectum, and colon cancers. However, every cancer type includes, at least, a subtype with high MEIS expression. In addition, studies have highlighted that MEIS proteins and associated factors may function as diagnostic or therapeutic biomarkers for various diseases. Herein, MEIS proteins and associated factors in tumorigenesis are discussed with recent discoveries in addition to how they could be modulated by noncoding RNAs or newly developed small-molecule MEIS inhibitors.