title: The helicase-like transcription factor (HLTF) in cancer: loss of function or oncomorphic conversion of a tumor suppressor?
abstract: The Helicase-like Transcription Factor (HLTF) belongs to the SWI/SNF family of proteins involved in chromatin remodeling. In addition to its role in gene transcription, HLTF has been implicated in DNA repair, which suggests that this protein acts as a tumor suppressor. Accumulating evidence indicates that HLTF expression is altered in various cancers via two mechanisms: gene silencing through promoter hypermethylation or alternative mRNA splicing, which leads to the expression of truncated proteins that lack DNA repair domains. In either case, the alteration of HLTF expression in cancer has a poor prognosis. In this review, we gathered published clinical and molecular data on HLTF. Our purposes are (a) to address whether HLTF alterations could be considered as cancer drivers or passengers and (b) to determine whether its different functions (transcription or DNA repair) could be diverted in clonal selection during cancer progression.
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dhont
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mascaux
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belayew
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004260:DNA Repair; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D020868:Gene Silencing; D016147:Genes, Tumor Suppressor; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C100023:HLTF protein, human; D014157:Transcription Factors