Transcription Factors:

There are several conditions which may cause changes in genetic material that can lead to cancer. These conditions occur with great frequency, however, our cells have remarkable mechanisms for protecting the integrity of our genetic material. Normally cells detect errors in genetic code during mitosis, and either correct these errors, or are programmed to die through a process called apoptosis. Only the alteration of these innate protection mechanisms may allow the cancer to progress.

Transcription factors are proteins found in all eukaryotic organisms, and they are integral to the transcription of DNA. One of the many causes of cancer results from damage or mutations to the DNA or RNA responsible for the creation of these transcription factors. This discussion will center upon those transcription factors most common during and most commonly associated with the formation of malignant tumors in metastatic carcinomas. Currently, much research is being done on transcription factors, and it has been shown that many of them do not have purposes beyond embryonic development during gastrulation.

Transcription factors are composed of proteins, which are coded for in our genetic material, and these changes can have the often dramatic consequences seen in many cancers, or at least profound changes in the homeostatic function of the cell. The most common transcription factor alteration involves the construction of the protein p53. This protein is responsible for monitoring the process of DNA transcription during mitosis. Mutations often lead to the under-expression of this protein, which allows these errors to be transcribed uncorrected. Further irregularities then continue to accumulate in the genetic material, leading to cancer in the affected tissues.

As these errors continue to accumulate, the cancer cells may become metastatic, meaning that these cells lose their identity and cohesion with surrounding tissues and migrate freely in the blood stream in the affected individual. These transitions from in situ carcinomas to metastatic bodies are referred to as epithelial-mesenchymal transitions and form the stage of cancer which is most dangerous to the individual, as these cells migrate freely to form new cancerous tumors throughout the body.

The transcription factors Snail Slug, and Twist block the transcription of the protein E-cadherin, which is a receptor on the surface of the cells which causes cells to bind to each other to form tissues. The lack of the E-cadherin receptor cause the cells bond with surrounding tissues to become progressively weaker, and can lead with further cellular differentiation through mutation to migration and metastasis. These transcription factors natural purpose in development is characterized by the transition of undifferentiated cells during gastrulation from the surface of the blastula, into mesenchymal tissue, and binding the ectoderm to the endoderm. The later expression of these developmental proteins causes these cells to assume the same migratory phenotype, and leads to carcinogenic cells migrating in the adults bloodstream to form widespread cancers.

In conclusion, while there are many things that can be the causes of cancer, it seems that changes and mutations in these transcription factors contribute largely to the progression of the disease. The importance of proteins like p53 and E-cadherin in the progression of cancer cannot be understated. These proteins maintain a homeostatic environment within the cell that ensures that cancerous growth cannot proceed. While these genes are obviously important in fighting the debilitating effects of cancer, it has been proved that simply invaginating these cells with the required proteins is insufficient to halt cancerous growth and restore normal cell function. This later discovery implies the necessity of further research into upstream causes of transcription of factors such as Twist Snail and Slug in the development of dangerous carcinomas and their metastatic evolution.