Unveiling the molecular structure and role of RBBP4/7: implications for epigenetic regulation and cancer research

Lize Cai; Bin Liu; Yufei Cao; Ting Sun; Yanyan Li

doi:10.3389/fmolb.2023.1276612

Unveiling the molecular structure and role of RBBP4/7: implications for epigenetic regulation and cancer research

Front Mol Biosci. 2023 Nov 13:10:1276612. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1276612. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Lize Cai¹, Bin Liu², Yufei Cao¹, Ting Sun¹, Yanyan Li¹

Affiliations

¹ The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou University, Suzhou, China.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital, Xining, China.

Abstract

Retinoblastoma-binding protein (RBBP) family is a class of proteins that can interact with tumor suppressor retinoblastoma protein (pRb). RBBP4 and RBBP7 are the only pair of homologous proteins in this family, serving as scaffold proteins whose main function is to offer a platform to indirectly connect two proteins. This characteristic allows them to extensively participate in the binding of various proteins and epigenetic complexes, indirectly influencing the function of effector proteins. As a result, they are often highlighted in organism activities involving active epigenetic modifications, such as embryonic development and cancer activation. In this review, we summarize the structural characteristics of RBBP4/7, the complexes they are involved in, their roles in embryonic development and cancer, as well as potential future research directions, which we hope to inspire the field of epigenetic research in the future.

Keywords: RBBP4; RBBP7; cancer metabolism; epigenetic complex; scaffold protein; targeted therapy.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work is supported by Bo Xi Incubation Program Plan Natural Science Foundation project in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University (BXQN202127) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81874080).