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Updated: Sep 5, 2025

Mapping the Structure-Function Relationships of Disordered Oncogenic Transcription Factors Using Transcriptomic Analysis
Published on: June 27, 2020
FOXR2 Is an Epigenetically Regulated Pan-Cancer Oncogene That Activates ETS Transcriptional Circuits
Jessica W Tsai1,2,3, Paloma Cejas4,5, Dayle K Wang1,3
1Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Forkhead box R2 (FOXR2) is a potent oncogene epigenetically activated in most human cancers. This study reveals FOXR2 drives tumor growth by hijacking ETS transcription circuits, offering new therapeutic targets.
Area of Science:
- * Molecular biology
- * Cancer research
- * Epigenetics
Background:
- * Forkhead box R2 (FOXR2) is a transcription factor normally expressed only in the testis.
- * Aberrant expression of transcription factors can drive oncogenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate the role of FOXR2 in a pan-cancer context.
- * To identify the mechanisms driving FOXR2 aberrant expression.
- * To determine FOXR2's functional role in tumor growth and its interaction with other transcriptional pathways.
Main Methods:
- * Pan-cancer analysis of FOXR2 expression across >10,000 tumor samples.
- * Epigenetic analysis, including DNA methylation profiling.
- * Functional validation of a novel FOXR2 promoter in cancer cell proliferation.
- * Investigation of FOXR2's interaction with ETS transcription factors.
Main Results:
- * FOXR2 is aberrantly upregulated in 70% of cancer types and 8% of individual tumors.
- * A novel promoter, activated by hypomethylation, drives FOXR2 expression in 78% of FOXR2-expressing tumors.
- * FOXR2 promotes tumor growth across diverse cancer lineages.
- * FOXR2 hijacks ETS family transcription circuits to enhance tumorigenesis.
Conclusions:
- * FOXR2 is a ubiquitous, epigenetically activated oncogene across human cancers.
- * Aberrant FOXR2 expression, driven by promoter hypomethylation, is a key mechanism in tumorigenesis.
- * FOXR2's co-option of ETS circuits represents a novel oncogenic mechanism and potential therapeutic vulnerability.
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