Role of RNA binding proteins of the Drosophila behavior and human splicing (DBHS) family in health and cancer

ABSTRACT

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) play crucial roles in the functions and homoeostasis of various tissues by regulating multiple events of RNA processing including RNA splicing, intracellular RNA transport, and mRNA translation. The Drosophila behavior and human splicing (DBHS) family proteins including PSF/SFPQ, NONO, and PSPC1 are ubiquitously expressed RBPs that contribute to the physiology of several tissues. In mammals, DBHS proteins have been reported to contribute to neurological diseases and play crucial roles in cancers, such as prostate, breast, and liver cancers, by regulating cancer-specific gene expression. Notably, in recent years, multiple small molecules targeting DBHS family proteins have been developed for application as cancer therapeutics. This review provides a recent overview of the functions of DBHS family in physiology and pathophysiology, and discusses the application of DBHS family proteins as promising diagnostic and therapeutic targets for cancers.

KEYWORDS:

• DBHS family
• PSF/SFPQ
• NONO
• PSPC1
• neurodegenerative diseases
• cancers

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Support Project of Strategic Research Center in Private Universities from the MEXT, and grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science [number 21H04829 (S.I.) and 23K08837 (T.T.)], and Takeda Science Foundation (S.I.), Japan.