Krüppel-like factors in cancer

The Krüppel-like factors (KLFs) are a family of transcriptional regulators linked by a triple zinc finger DNA-binding domain.In normal tissues, KLFs control a broad number of key cellular processes, including proliferation, differentiation, migration, inflammation and pluripotency.KLF expression and function are altered in a large number of human cancers, and KLFs regulate cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis, metastasis, tumour microenvironment and cancer stem cells.KLFs have context-dependent functions, partly mediated by molecular switches, such as p53, p21 or SIN3 transcription regulator homologue A (SIN3A), alternative splicing and post-translational modifications.KLFs cross-regulate and compensate for each other in cancer, although these functions remain to be fully defined.Understanding the mechanisms of KLF function in cancer will probably lead to new translational discoveries for cancer diagnosis and treatment.