文章：

癌症中同型盒基因表达失控：原因还是结果？

Deregulated homeobox gene expression in cancer: cause or consequence?

原文发布日期：2002-10-01

DOI: 10.1038/nrc907

类型: Review Article

开放获取: 否

要点：

1. Although deregulated homeobox gene expression was originally associated with oncogenic activities, it is now apparent that homeobox genes might be lost as well as gained in cancer, and their corresponding activities might be tumour suppressing as well as tumour promoting. Although there are numerous examples of the deregulated expression of homeobox genes in association with cancer, there are far fewer cases of causal links between these aberrant expressions and carcinogenesis.
2. Many examples of deregulated homeobox gene expression in cancer conform to a simple rule: homeobox genes that are upregulated in cancer are normally expressed during development and/or in undifferentiated cells, whereas homeobox genes that are downregulated in cancer are normally expressed in adulthood and/or in differentiated tissues.
3. Several examples exist in which homeobox genes impinge on the cell cycle, indicating that deregulation of cell-cycle control might be a common mechanism by which aberrant homeobox gene expression contributes to carcinogenesis.
4. Homeobox genes that are downregulated in cancer share several features, including tissue specificity and epigenetic loss of function.
5. Based on their unique features with respect to their expression and function, homeobox genes are best described as 'tumour modulators' rather than oncogenes or tumour-suppressor genes.

要点翻译：

1. 尽管失调的同源框基因表达最初与致癌活性相关，但现在看来，同源框基因在癌症中可能既存在获得也存在缺失，其相应活性可能既促进肿瘤也抑制肿瘤。虽然存在大量同源框基因表达失调与癌症相关的例证，但能够证明这些异常表达与致癌之间存在因果关系的案例却少得多。
2. 癌症中同源框基因表达失调的多数案例遵循一个简单规律：在癌症中上调的同源框基因通常在发育过程和/或未分化细胞中表达，而在癌症中下调的同源框基因通常在成年期和/或分化组织中表达。
3. 现有若干案例表明同源框基因会影响细胞周期，这提示细胞周期控制的失调可能是异常同源框基因表达促成癌变的共同机制。
4. 在癌症中下调的同源框基因具有若干共同特征，包括组织特异性和表观遗传性功能丧失。
5. 基于其表达和功能方面的独特特征，同源框基因最宜被描述为"肿瘤调节因子"而非癌基因或抑癌基因。

英文摘要：

Homeobox genes comprise a large and essential family of developmental regulators that are vital for all aspects of growth and differentiation. Although many studies have reported their deregulated expression in cancer, few studies have established direct functional roles for homeobox genes in carcinogenesis. Nonetheless, most cases of deregulated homeobox gene expression in cancer conform to a simple rule: those that are normally expressed in undifferentiated cells are upregulated in cancer, whereas those that are normally expressed in differentiated tissues are downregulated in cancer.

摘要翻译： 

同源盒基因构成一个庞大且关键的发育调控因子家族，对生长和分化的各个方面均至关重要。尽管大量研究报道其在癌症中表达失调，但明确证实同源盒基因在致癌过程中具有直接功能作用的研究却寥寥无几。然而，癌症中大多数同源盒基因表达失调的情况都遵循一条简单规律：那些通常在未分化细胞中表达的基因在癌症中上调，而那些通常在分化组织中表达的基因则在癌症中下调。

原文链接：

Deregulated homeobox gene expression in cancer: cause or consequence?