Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Guangzhou, China.
J Pathol. 2013 Oct;231(2):143-6. doi: 10.1002/path.4238.
The transcription factor E2F1 has both oncogenic and tumour suppressor properties, depending on the context. Clarifying the function of E2F1 in different types of cancer is relevant because in those situations in which it acts as an oncogene there may be a route for therapeutic interference. Renal cell carcinoma is the most frequent form of kidney cancer in adults and inactivation of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene underlies most cases. This malignancy represents a challenge for standard therapies due to drug- and radio-resistance, effects that fit well within the scope of functions of E2F1. A new report by Mans et al postulates that up-regulation of E2F1 in VHL-defective renal cell carcinoma induces cell senescence and can thus be considered a good prognostic factor. Here we discuss these findings in a wider context and propose that E2F1 may actually not play a uniform role in renal cell carcinoma but rather an ambiguous one whose deeper understanding could have practical implications.
转录因子 E2F1 具有致癌和抑癌特性，具体取决于具体情况。阐明 E2F1 在不同类型癌症中的功能是相关的，因为在其作为致癌基因起作用的情况下，可能存在治疗干预的途径。肾细胞癌是成人中最常见的肾癌形式，大多数病例的基础是 von Hippel-Lindau（VHL）基因失活。由于耐药性和放射性耐药性，这种恶性肿瘤对标准治疗构成了挑战，这些影响非常符合 E2F1 功能的范围。Mans 等人的一项新报告假设，VHL 缺陷型肾细胞癌中 E2F1 的上调诱导细胞衰老，因此可以被认为是一个良好的预后因素。在这里，我们在更广泛的背景下讨论这些发现，并提出 E2F1 在肾细胞癌中实际上可能没有发挥统一的作用，而是具有模糊的作用，对其更深入的理解可能具有实际意义。
