title: Twist as a new prognostic marker in hematological malignancies.
abstract: Twist proteins are members of basic helix-loop-helix family and are major regulators of embryogenesis. In adult humans, Twist proteins are mainly expressed in precursor cells, including myogenic, osteoblastic, chondroblastic and myelomonocytic lineages, maintaining their undifferentiated state. In addition, they play important roles in lymphocyte function and maturation. Recently, several studies have reported regulatory roles for Twist in the function and development of hematopoietic cells as well as in survival and development of numerous hematological malignancies. It is activated by numerous signal transduction pathways, including Akt, nuclear factor κB, Wnt, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, mitogen-activated protein kinase and Ras signaling. Activated Twist has an anti-apoptotic role and protects cancer cells from apoptotic cell death. In addition, overexpression of Twist promotes the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, which has an essential role in cancer metastasis. Hereby, we review the aberrant expression of Twist in hematopoietic malignancies such as leukemias, lymphomas and myelodysplastic syndrome, which is related with poor prognosis and drug resistance in these disorders. Inactivation of Twist by small RNAs technology or chemotherapeutic inhibitors targeting Twist and upstream or downstream molecules of Twist signaling pathways may be helpful in management of disease to improve treatment strategies in malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Health Research Institute, Research Center of Thalassemia and Hemoglobinopathy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Norozi
authors.affiliation: Health Research Institute, Research Center of Thalassemia and Hemoglobinopathy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmadzadeh
authors.affiliation: Health Research Institute, Research Center of Thalassemia and Hemoglobinopathy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shahjahani
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Hematology, Faculty of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shahrabi
authors.affiliation: Health Research Institute, Research Center of Thalassemia and Hemoglobinopathy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. najmaldinsaki@gmail.com.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Saki
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C103173:TWIST1 protein, human; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1
keywords: Apoptosis; Bone marrow niche; Hematological malignancies; Twist; miRNA