Oncogenic and tumor suppressor function of MEIS and associated factors

Abstract

MEIS proteins are historically associated with tumorigenesis, metastasis, and invasion in cancer. MEIS and associated PBXHOX proteins may act as tumor suppressors or oncogenes in different cellular settings. Their expressions tend to be misregulated invarious cancers. Bioinformatic analyses have suggested their upregulation in leukemia/lymphoma, thymoma, pancreas, glioma, andglioblastoma, and downregulation in cervical, uterine, rectum, and colon cancers. However, every cancer type includes, at least, asubtype with high MEIS expression. In addition, studies have highlighted that MEIS proteins and associated factors may function asdiagnostic or therapeutic biomarkers for various diseases. Herein, MEIS proteins and associated factors in tumorigenesis are discussedwith recent discoveries in addition to how they could be modulated by noncoding RNAs or newly developed small-molecule MEISinhibitors.