Publications

Abstract

Recent elucidation of the stem and progenitor cell hierarchies operative during normal tissue and organ development has provided a foundation for the development of new insights into the disease process. These hierarchies are established by genetic mechanisms that specify and determine cell fate to act as cell-clade gatekeepers, upon which all multicellular organisms depend for viability. Perturbation of this gatekeeper function characterizes developmentally based disease such as cancer. Here we review the emerging gatekeeper and master regulator roles of the ETS transcription factor Elf5 in a number of diverse developmental scenarios and show how this function intersects with hormonal and growth factor regulation of these processes.