The Secret Lives of Transcription Factors

Dr. Willis X. Li received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and is currently Professor of Medicine in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program at the University of California, San Diego. He is a prolific author and his more recent works include two books for Springer's Methods in Molecular Biology/Protocols series. His investigative interests are JAK/STAT signaling and innate immunity, epigenetic mechanism of tumor suppression and tumorigenesis, and the role of heterochromatin in aging and stem cells. Dr. Louis Silver-Morse received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.  She did research in genetics as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biomedical Genetics at the University of Rochester Medical Center.  She has published research articles and reviews in premier scientific journals.  She is currently a freelance writer/editor.

Chapter 1 Introduction .- Chapter 2 Unconventional functions of transcription factors.- GAGA transcription factor.- Heterochromatin protein 1.- Retinoblastoma protein.- STAT.- ATF-2.- NF-kB.- Chapter 3 STAT and HP1, in their unconventional roles, promote longevity and protect against DNA damage and cancer.- STAT and HP1 promote longevity.- STAT and HP1 protect against DNA damage.- Increased levels of STAT and HP1 hinder carcinogenesis in a mouse xenograft model.- Chapter 4 The possible biological significance of transcription factors' unconventional functions.- The epigenome.- Processes in the cell nucleus.- Future Work.