E2F1

What is E2F1 protein?

E2F1 (E2F transcription factor 1) is a protein coding gene which situated on the long arm of chromosome 20 at locus 20q11. This gene encodes a transcription factor called E2F1 which is a member of E2F proteins family. The E2F proteins contain several evolutionally conserved domains found in most members of the family. These domains include a DNA binding domain, a dimerization domain which determines interaction with the differentiation regulated transcription factor proteins (DP), a transactivation domain enriched in acidic amino acids, and a tumor suppressor protein association domain which is embedded within the transactivation domain. The E2F1 protein is consisted of 437 amino acids and its molecular mass is approximately 46.9 kDa.

What is the function of E2F1 protein?

The E2F family plays a crucial role in the control of cell cycle and action of tumor suppressor proteins and is also a target of the transforming proteins of small DNA tumor viruses. Among them, E2F1 can promote cells to enter the S-phase (DNA synthesis phase) and participates in cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. In addition to its role in cell cycle regulation, E2F1 is also involved in other biological processes, such as apoptosis and tumorigenesis. For example, some studies have shown that high expression of E2F1 is associated with the development of certain cancers.

E2F1 related Signaling pathways

Signaling pathways involved in E2F1 include, but are not limited to, cell cycle pathways, RAS pathways, PI3K pathways, Myc pathways and p53 pathways. The analysis also showed that CDK4/6-Rb1/E2F1 pathway proteins are directly or indirectly associated with key molecules of these classical signaling pathways. E2F1 has also been found to be an important node molecule in the cell signaling network in cancer models and is involved in transcriptional regulation of some important genes by talking to other signaling pathways, including NF-κB. E2F1 can also be involved in apoptosis by controlling the expression of mitochondria-associated genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation and electron transfer.

E2F1 Related Diseases

The E2F1 gene is regularly upregulated in many tumor samples, especially in prostate cancer, where it interacts most with other proteins as an important regulator. In addition, abnormal expression or mutation of E2F1 can lead to abnormal cell cycles, which can lead to diseases, for example, in the islet cells of diabetic patients, expression levels of E2F1 are significantly elevated. Some studies have suggested that E2F1 also plays an important role in neurodegenerative diseases. For example, in patients with Alzheimer's disease, expression levels of E2F1 are significantly reduced. E2F1 may also be associated with a number of other diseases, such as liver fibrosis, cardiovascular disease, etc.

Fig1. Results from database showed that E2F1 is a valuable prognostic biomarker for cancers Survival prognosis curve (A) Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma, (B) Colon adenocarcinoma, (C) Lung adenocarcinoma; K–M plotter of E2F1 in (D) Lung cancer, (E) Ovarian cancer, (F) Breast cancer.

Bioapplications of E2F1

E2F1 could be served as a prognostic biomarker in cancer patients and higher levels of in cancer patients could predict shorter overall survival and disease-free survival. And it could be used as a potential target for cancer treatment. Given its role in many diseases, it can be used to study the pathogenesis of related diseases, so as to develop effective treatment strategies.