Transcriptional regulation of the survivin gene

• Published in: Molecular biology reports Vol. 41; no. 1; pp. 233 - 240
• Main Authors: Boidot, Romain, Végran, Frédérique, Lizard-Nacol, Sarab
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-01-2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal Anatomy; Animal Biochemistry; Apoptosis; Base Sequence; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Epigenesis, Genetic; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Genes; Histology; Humans; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins - genetics; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins - metabolism; Life Sciences; Molecular Sequence Data; Morphology; Neoplasms - genetics; Neoplasms - metabolism; Neoplasms - pathology; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; Signal Transduction; Tissues; Transcription Factors - physiology; Transcription, Genetic; Signalling pathways; Transcription factors; gene; Genetic alterations; Transcription regulation
• ISSN: 0301-4851; 1573-4978
• DOI: 10.1007/s11033-013-2856-0

Survivin, a small member of the inhibitors of the apoptosis protein family, is highly deregulated in cancer. It is weakly expressed in normal tissues but very strongly expressed in malignant lesions. Survivin is involved in cell-cycle progression, especially in the G2/M transition, and has anti-apoptotic activity, which correlates with its strong expression in cases with a poor cancer treatment response and poor outcomes. Several therapies that target the survivin transcript or protein are currently being tested in clinical trials. However, focusing new therapies on the origins of survivin overexpression and targeting these upstream deregulations could be more effective. For this reason, it seems important to make an inventory of the transcriptional (de)regulation of survivin. This review will gather the important points concerning the regulation of survivin mRNA expression: structure of the
survivin
promoter, epigenetic modifications and genetic abnormalities, transcription factors, and signalling pathways that affect survivin mRNA expression.