Transcription factors in human leukaemias

At the present time, two general mechanisms account for deregulation and subsequent oncogenic conversion of transcriptional proteins in human leukaemias. One involves quantitative alterations in expression, suggesting that activity of the involved factors is primarily controlled by their accessibility within the cell. Neoplastic transformation may result from excessive expression or, conversely, complete loss of functional products (eg tumour suppressor proteins not described here). The second mechanism involves mutation by protein fusion (or truncation) and illustrates the modular composition of transcriptional proteins. The loss or inappropriate combination of specific modules creates chimaeric proteins with presumably altered transcriptional properties that may contribute to the neoplastic phenotype. Both mechanisms underscore the importance of cognate interactions, particularly heterodimerization between various transcriptional proteins with other members of the transcription complex. Future efforts will continue to focus on the interactions of oncogenic transcription factors with other cellular proteins and their biologically relevant target genes.