Genes associated with endocrine tumorigenesis

MEN1基因编码的menin功能失活可导致遗传性多发性内分泌肿瘤1型（MEN1）综合征和部分散发性胰腺内分泌肿瘤。因此，解开menin上游或下游的分子事件可以指向其他致病基因和/或负责此类肿瘤类型的调节事件。正确的组织分化依赖于对细胞周期事件和组织指定因子的表达和活性之间协调的精确控制。这种类型的协调可能出错，导致肿瘤的形成。我们目前的工作方向是研究两类基因对menin调控的转录、转录后、蛋白质、蛋白质相互作用和亚细胞定位事件的影响。

Functional inactivation of menin, encoded by the MEN1 gene, causes the inherited multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) syndrome and some but not all sporadic pancreatic endocrine tumors. Therefore, unraveling molecular events upstream or downstream of menin could point to other causative genes and/or regulatory events responsible for such tumor types. Proper tissue differentiation is dependent upon a precise control over the coordination between cell cycle events and the expression and activity of tissue specifying factors. This type of coordination could go awry to result in tumor formation. Our current efforts are directed towards studying 2 categories of genes for menin-regulated transcriptional, post-transcriptional, protein:protein interaction, and sub-cellular localization events: 1) Cyclin-dependent kinases and their inhibitors, and 2) Endocrine pancreas differentiation factors.