EVI1 in Leukemia and Solid Tumors.

The gene encodes for a transcription factor with two zinc finger domains and is transcriptionally activated in a subset of myeloid leukemias. In leukemia, the transcriptional activation of usually results from chromosomal rearrangements. Besides leukemia, has also been linked to solid tumors including breast cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer and colon cancer. The gene is encoded by the same locus as . While EVI1 functions as a transcription repressor, MDS1/EVI1 acts as a transcription activator. The fusion protein encoded by the chimeric gene, resulting from chromosomal translocations in a subset of chronic myeloid leukemia, exhibits a similar function to EVI1. EVI1 has been shown to regulate cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, whereas the functions of MDS1/EVI1 and AML1/MDS1/EVI1 remain elusive. In this review, we summarize the genetic structures, biochemical properties and biological functions of these proteins in cancer.