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Background
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Slug (SNAI2) is a widely expressed transcriptional repressor and member of the Snail family of zinc finger transcription factors. Similar to the related Snail protein, Slug binds to the E-cadherin promoter region to repress transcription during development. The binding of Slug to integrin promoter sequences represses integrin expression and results in reduced cell adhesion. Down regulation of E-cadherin expression occurs during the epithelial-mesenchymal transition during embryonic development, a process also exploited by invasive cancer cells. The tumor suppressor protein p53 induces Slug expression in γ-irradiated cells, Slug protects damaged cells from apoptosis by repressing p53-induced transcription of the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family protein Puma. Deletion mutations in the corresponding Slug gene are associated with the pigmentation disorders Waardenburg Syndrome and Piebaldism, while a genetic duplication resulting in Slug overexpression is associated with a collection of congenital heart defects termed tetralogy of Fallot.
Synonyms: SNAI2,MGC10182,SLUG,SLUGH1,WS2D
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