MORC Protein Family-related Signature Within Human Disease and Cancer

Overview

Journal Cell Death Dis

Specialties Cell Biology
General Medicine

Date 2021 Nov 28

PMID 34839357

Citations 17

Authors

Huan Wang

Ling Zhang

Qiuhua Luo

Jia Liu

Guiling Wang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The microrchidia (MORC) family of proteins is a highly conserved nuclear protein superfamily, whose members contain common domain structures (GHKL-ATPase, CW-type zinc finger and coiled-coil domain) yet exhibit diverse biological functions. Despite the advancing research in previous decades, much of which focuses on their role as epigenetic regulators and in chromatin remodeling, relatively little is known about the role of MORCs in tumorigenesis and pathogenesis. MORCs were first identified as epigenetic regulators and chromatin remodelers in germ cell development. Currently, MORCs are regarded as disease genes that are involved in various human disorders and oncogenes in cancer progression and are expected to be the important biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment. A new paradigm of expanded MORC family function has raised questions regarding the regulation of MORCs and their biological role at the subcellular level. Here, we systematically review the progress of researching MORC members with respect to their domain architectures, diverse biological functions, and distribution characteristics and discuss the emerging roles of the aberrant expression or mutation of MORC family members in human disorders and cancer development. Furthermore, the illustration of related mechanisms of the MORC family has made MORCs promising targets for developing diagnostic tools and therapeutic treatments for human diseases, including cancers.

Citing Articles

MORC protein regulates chromatin accessibility and transcriptional repression in the human malaria parasite, .

Chahine Z, Gupta M, Lenz T, Hollin T, Abel S, Banks C Elife. 2024; 12.

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Genome-wide analysis reveals the MORC3-mediated repression of PD-L1 expression in head and neck cancer.

Fu W, Chang X, Ye K, Zheng Z, Lai Q, Ge M Front Cell Dev Biol. 2024; 12:1410130.

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Emerging roles of the chromatin remodeler MORC2 in cancer metabolism.

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MORC2 regulates RBM39-mediated CDK5RAP2 alternative splicing to promote EMT and metastasis in colon cancer.

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Morc1 reestablishes H3K9me3 heterochromatin on piRNA-targeted transposons in gonocytes.

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PMID: 38502704 PMC: 10990106. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317095121.

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