title: Bmi-1: At the crossroads of physiological and pathological biology.
abstract: Bmi-1 is a member of the Polycomb Repressor Complex1 that mediates gene silencing by regulating chromatin structure and is indispensable for self-renewal of both normal and cancer stem cells. Despite three decades of research that have elucidated the transcriptional regulation, post-translational modifications and functions of Bmi-1 in regulating the DNA damage response, cellular bioenergetics, and pathologies, the entire potential of a protein with such varied function remains to be realized. This review attempts to synthesize the current knowledge on Bmi-1 with an emphasis on its role in both normal physiology and cancer. Additionally, since cancer stem cells are emerging as a new paradigm for therapy resistance, the role of Bmi-1 in this perspective is also highlighted. The wide spectrum of malignancies that implicate Bmi-1 as a signature for stemness and oncogenesis also make it a suitable candidate for therapy. Nonetheless new approaches are vitally needed to further characterize physiological roles of Bmi-1 with the long-term goal of using Bmi-1 as a prognostic marker and a therapeutic target.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104, United States of America.
authors.forename: Resham
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104, United States of America.
authors.forename: Soumyajit Banerjee
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Mustafi
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104, United States of America.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Street
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104, United States of America.
authors.forename: Anindya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dey
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104, United States of America.
authors.forename: Shailendra Kumar Dhar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Dwivedi
keywords: Aging; BMI1; Cancer; Post translational modification; Stem cell