The role of TWIST1 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancers

TWIST1 is a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor which plays essential and pivotal roles in multiple stages of embryonic development, and significantly contributes to tumor metastasis, even tumor initiation and primary tumor growth. It is well recognized that TWIST1 is overexpressed in a variety of tumors. Overexpression of TWIST1 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a key process in the metastases formation of cancer. TWIST1 also promotes the formation of cancer stem cells and facilitates the process of tumorigenesis. Numerous studies have shown that targeting TWIST1 or TWIST1-related molecules significantly inhibits tumor growth, restricts tumor metastasis, reverses drug resistance, and thus improves the survival of cancer patients. Therefore, it is important to provide a better understanding of the context-dependent regulation of TWIST1 in each individual epithelial tumor, which might reveal new therapeutic targets in cancer treatment.