Journal of Carcinogenesis & Mutagenesis

Abstract

Zebrafish as a Model to Characterize TEL2 Function During Development and Cancer

Anita M. Quintana and Gerard C. Grosveld

TEL2/ETV7 is a human oncoprotein that alone or in cooperation with MYC to promote leukomogenesis. It is a member of the ETS family of transcription factors. ETS factors are common sites of chromosome translocation in cancer and are essential for normal development. Most ETS factors are conserved in mice and their function has been characterized by gain or loss of function studies. TEL2 is unique because it is not present in rodents. The lack of TEL2 in rodents has made it difficult to properly characterize the role of TEL2 in development. The genome sequencing efforts discovered that TEL2 is conserved in the zebrafish, Danio rerio, which has emerged as a powerful model system to study vasculogenesis, hematopoiesis, development, and cancer. Here, we discuss the types of experiments that have been used to characterize zebrafish ETS factors and suggest new experiments that can be performed in zebrafish to further characterize the function of TEL2.