Affinage

FLI1

Friend leukemia integration 1 transcription factor · UniProt Q01543

Length
452 aa
Mass
51.0 kDa
Annotated
2026-04-28
100 papers in source corpus 43 papers cited in narrative 42 extracted findings

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

FLI1 is an ETS family transcription factor that governs hematopoietic stem cell specification, megakaryocyte–erythroid lineage commitment, endothelial cell identity, and lymphocyte effector differentiation. It binds GGA(A/T)-containing DNA via its ETS domain — as a monomer or helix-swapped homodimer stabilized by Phe362 — and possesses N-terminal and C-terminal transcriptional activation domains, with the N-terminal region also exerting auto-inhibitory function that is relieved in the oncogenic EWS-FLI1 fusion (PMID:8449942, PMID:7503813, PMID:26618620). FLI1 participates in a recursive triad with GATA2 and SCL to maintain hematopoietic enhancer networks, cross-antagonizes EKLF to enforce megakaryocytic over erythroid fate, acts downstream of ETV2 with positive autoregulation to sustain endothelial gene programs, and restrains CD8+ T effector and NK memory precursor differentiation by limiting chromatin accessibility at ETS:RUNX-driven effector loci (PMID:17962413, PMID:12556498, PMID:24727028, PMID:33636129, PMID:35288713). Its stability and activity are modulated by p300/CBP/PCAF-mediated acetylation enhancing DNA binding, casein kinase 1 phosphorylation enabling SPOP-dependent proteasomal degradation, and OTUD7A/USP19-mediated deubiquitination; in Ewing sarcoma, the EWS-FLI1 fusion acts as an aberrant transcriptional activator at GGAA microsatellite enhancers and additionally functions as a splicing regulator through interactions with RHA and DDX5 (PMID:27431361, PMID:34060252, PMID:30700749, PMID:16740692, PMID:25737553).

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 16 steps
  1. 1993 High

    Establishing FLI1 as a sequence-specific DNA-binding transcriptional activator with modular activation domains resolved its basic molecular function and revealed an N-terminal auto-inhibitory domain whose removal (as in EWS-FLI1) derepresses the C-terminal activation domain.

    Evidence DNA binding assays, methylation protection, co-transfection reporter assays, and deletion analysis in cell lines

    PMID:7503813 PMID:8449942

    Open questions at the time
    • Full-length structural basis of auto-inhibition not resolved
    • Physiological contexts activating the C-terminal domain in wild-type FLI1 unknown
  2. 1995 High

    Demonstrating that EWS-FLI1 transformation requires both the EWS activation domain and FLI1 DNA-binding domain — and cooperates with other transcription factors — established the oncogenic fusion as a gain-of-function transcriptional activator rather than a simple deregulation of FLI1.

    Evidence Soft agar colony assays with systematic deletion and domain-swap mutants in NIH3T3 cells

    PMID:7845667

    Open questions at the time
    • Cooperating transcription factors not identified
    • Transformation-specific versus transactivation functions map to different EWS sub-domains but downstream targets not defined
  3. 1998 High

    Discovery that TEL/ETV6 directly binds FLI1 and inhibits its megakaryocytic transactivation introduced the concept of ETS-family cross-regulation of FLI1 activity, later extended to ETV6 competition with EWS-FLI1 at GGAA repeats.

    Evidence Yeast two-hybrid, in vitro/in vivo binding, and reporter assays with deletion mutants

    PMID:9651344

    Open questions at the time
    • In vivo relevance in megakaryopoiesis not shown
    • Stoichiometry of TEL-FLI1 complex undetermined
  4. 2001 High

    Identifying FLI1 as a direct repressor of COL1A2 via DNA binding and Sp1 interaction established its role in extracellular matrix gene regulation and linked FLI1 to fibrosis-related biology.

    Evidence Reporter assays, in vitro binding, dominant-negative and DNA-binding mutants in dermal fibroblasts

    PMID:11278621

    Open questions at the time
    • Co-repressor identity not determined
    • In vivo fibrosis phenotype not tested at this stage
  5. 2003 High

    The cross-antagonism between FLI1 and EKLF — where FLI1 represses erythroid β-globin transcription while EKLF represses FLI1-driven megakaryocytic GPIX — provided a molecular switch model for erythroid versus megakaryocytic fate decisions.

    Evidence Reciprocal reporter assays, co-immunoprecipitation, and Gal4 fusion domain mapping

    PMID:12556498

    Open questions at the time
    • In vivo lineage commitment phenotype of the cross-antagonism not directly tested
    • Quantitative threshold for fate switching unknown
  6. 2005 High

    ChIP-validated binding of FLI1 to the MDM2 and LMO2 promoters expanded its direct target repertoire to include a p53 pathway regulator and a key hematopoietic/endothelial transcription factor.

    Evidence ChIP, in vitro binding, reporter assays, and transgenic mouse enhancer analysis

    PMID:15592502 PMID:15994290

    Open questions at the time
    • Whether FLI1-MDM2-p53 axis operates in normal hematopoiesis versus only erythroleukemia not resolved
  7. 2007 High

    Demonstration that FLI1, GATA2, and SCL co-occupy each other's enhancers in HSCs established a recursively wired triad circuit as the regulatory kernel of hematopoietic specification.

    Evidence ChIP across HSCs, fetal liver, and hemangioblast equivalents; enhancer-reporter and transgenic analysis

    PMID:17962413

    Open questions at the time
    • Order of assembly and temporal hierarchy among the three factors not resolved
    • Functional necessity of recursive wiring versus simple co-regulation not tested by enhancer mutation
  8. 2014 High

    Placing FLI1 downstream of ETV2 and showing that FLI1 replaces ETV2 at its own promoter via positive autoregulation resolved how endothelial gene programs persist after ETV2 downregulation at midgestation.

    Evidence ChIP and loss/gain-of-function in mouse embryos and endothelial cell lines

    PMID:24727028

    Open questions at the time
    • Whether FLI1 is sufficient alone or requires ERG redundancy for endothelial maintenance in vivo
  9. 2015 High

    Crystal structures of the FLI1 DNA-binding domain revealed a helix-swapped homodimer mediated by Phe362, separating dimerization from DNA-binding function and providing a structural framework for understanding FLI1 cooperativity on GGAA repeats.

    Evidence X-ray crystallography of free and DNA-bound FLI1 DBD, Phe362Ala mutagenesis, solution dimerization assays

    PMID:26618620

    Open questions at the time
    • Functional consequence of dimerization for transcription in cells not established
    • Full-length FLI1 structure unavailable
  10. 2015 High

    Demonstrating that EWS-FLI1 directly interacts with splicing factors (DDX5, hnRNP K, RHA) via CLIP-seq and regulates alternative splicing established a non-canonical post-transcriptional function for the fusion beyond transcription.

    Evidence CLIP-seq, exon array, RNA-seq, co-IP, and pharmacological disruption with YK-4-279 in Ewing sarcoma cells

    PMID:25564528 PMID:25737553

    Open questions at the time
    • Whether wild-type FLI1 has any splicing regulatory activity unknown
    • Specific RNA targets essential for transformation not defined
  11. 2016 High

    Showing that p300/CBP/PCAF acetylate FLI1 at its DNA-binding domain to enhance DNA binding, while differentially modulating target gene-specific transactivation (enhancing some targets, reducing G-CSF promoter activity), revealed post-translational fine-tuning of FLI1 function.

    Evidence In vitro acetylation, EMSA, co-transfection with acetyltransferases, and site-directed mutagenesis of acetylation sites

    PMID:22973553 PMID:27431361

    Open questions at the time
    • Acetylation site specificity on full-length FLI1 in vivo not fully mapped
    • Deacetylase(s) opposing this modification not identified
  12. 2019 High

    Identifying the SPOP E3 ligase (via CK1-phosphorylated VTSSS degron) and OTUD7A/USP19 deubiquitinases as opposing regulators of EWS-FLI1 stability defined the ubiquitin-proteasome axis controlling fusion protein abundance in Ewing sarcoma.

    Evidence Co-IP, ubiquitination assays, phosphodegron mutagenesis, knockdown with in vivo xenograft validation

    PMID:30700749 PMID:34060252

    Open questions at the time
    • Whether SPOP-mediated degradation also governs wild-type FLI1 turnover in normal cells unknown
    • Structural basis of OTUD7A recognition of EWS-FLI1 not resolved
  13. 2021 High

    An in vivo CRISPR screen identified FLI1 as a restraint on CD8+ T effector differentiation; its deletion increased chromatin accessibility at ETS:RUNX motifs and enhanced anti-tumor and anti-infection immunity without compromising memory, establishing FLI1 as a checkpoint of effector T cell fate.

    Evidence In vivo CRISPR screen, genetic deletion, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, infection and tumor challenge models in mice

    PMID:33636129

    Open questions at the time
    • Mechanism by which FLI1 restricts Runx3 access is not structurally resolved
    • Relevance in human T cells awaits confirmation
  14. 2022 High

    FLI1 was shown to limit NK cell memory precursor survival by inducing Bim downstream of STAT5, defining a parallel role to its T cell function in restricting lymphocyte effector/memory balance.

    Evidence scRNA-seq, ATAC-seq, STAT5 stimulation, genetic Fli1 manipulation, viral infection model

    PMID:35288713

    Open questions at the time
    • Direct FLI1 binding to Bim regulatory elements not confirmed by ChIP
    • Whether FLI1 and ETS1 are redundant in NK cells not resolved
  15. 2023 High

    A CRISPR screen revealed that ETV6 competes with EWS-FLI1 at GGAA repeat enhancers; ETV6 loss hyper-activates EWS-FLI1 at these sites and drives SOX11-mediated mesenchymal differentiation, providing a direct competition mechanism that tunes EWS-FLI1 output.

    Evidence Domain-focused CRISPR screen, biochemical competition, ChIP-seq, dominant-interfering peptide, xenograft model

    PMID:36658219

    Open questions at the time
    • Whether this competition operates at all GGAA microsatellites or only select sites unclear
    • Structural basis of ETV6–EWS-FLI1 competition not resolved
  16. 2024 High

    FLI1 was identified as an orchestrator of IFN-γ-induced IDO1 transcription by recruiting CBP and STAT1 and opening chromatin at the IDO1 locus, thereby driving kynurenine-mediated immunosuppression — linking FLI1 to tumor immune evasion.

    Evidence ChIP, ATAC-seq, co-IP of FLI1–CBP–STAT1, pharmacological FLI1 inhibition, T cell functional assays

    PMID:38816360

    Open questions at the time
    • Whether FLI1-IDO1 axis operates across tumor types beyond those studied
    • Identity of the pharmacological FLI1 inhibitor target specificity not fully characterized

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • Key unresolved questions include: the full-length structure of FLI1 (only the DBD is crystallized), the physiological relevance of homodimerization for transcription, whether SPOP-CK1-mediated degradation regulates wild-type FLI1 in normal hematopoiesis, and whether FLI1's restraint on T/NK effector differentiation can be therapeutically exploited without disrupting its essential endothelial and megakaryocytic functions.
  • Full-length FLI1 structure absent
  • Dimerization function in transcription unresolved
  • Therapeutic window for FLI1 modulation in immunotherapy undefined

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification · explore literature graph →
Molecular activity
GO:0140110 transcription regulator activity 11 GO:0003677 DNA binding 7
Localization
GO:0005634 nucleus 5
Pathway
R-HSA-74160 Gene expression (Transcription) 11 R-HSA-168256 Immune System 4 R-HSA-1266738 Developmental Biology 3 R-HSA-392499 Metabolism of proteins 3 R-HSA-4839726 Chromatin organization 3
Partners
EKLFETV6GATA2OTUD7ARHASCLSPOPSRF
Complex memberships
EWS-FLI1–RHA complexFLI1-GATA2-SCL triadFLI1–Sp1 complex

Evidence

Reading pass · 42 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
1993 FLI1 protein binds specific DNA sequences related to ETS-binding sites and functions as a transcriptional activator, with two autonomous transcriptional activation domains (N-terminal and C-terminal regions). DNA binding assays, methylation protection experiments, co-transfection reporter assays, deletion analysis The Journal of biological chemistry High 8449942
1993 EWS/FLI1 chimeric fusion protein functions as a transcriptional activator; the EWS domain acts as a modulatory/regulatory domain for the C-terminal transcriptional activation domain of FLI1, with the EWS-FLI1 fusion releasing the C-terminal activation domain from inhibition imposed by the normal FLI1 N-terminal region. Reporter gene assays, deletion analysis, transient transfection Cancer research High 7503813
1995 EWS/FLI1 transformation of NIH3T3 cells requires both EWS and FLI1 sequences; the EWS domain encodes a strong transcriptional activation domain and can be functionally subdivided into a transformation-efficient but low-transactivation domain (A) and a high-transactivation but less-transformation-efficient domain (B); EWS/FLI1 cooperates with other transcription factors to activate reporter genes. Soft agar colony assays, reporter gene transactivation assays, deletion mutant analysis, chimeric construct transfection Oncogene High 7845667
1996 EWS-FLI1, but not FLI1, forms a ternary complex on the c-fos serum response element (SRE) by interacting with SRF protein; both FLI1 and EWS-FLI1 interact with SRF in vitro in the absence of DNA; deletion of the N-terminal domain of FLI1 converts it to EWS-FLI1-like behavior, revealing an N-terminal inhibitory domain in normal FLI1. EMSA, GST pull-down, deletion mutagenesis Nucleic acids research High 8604338
1997 EWS/FLI1 transformation requires the presence of a functional IGF-IR; IGF-IR knockout fibroblasts expressing EWS/FLI1 fail to form soft agar colonies; EWS/FLI1 expression enhances ligand-stimulated IRS-1 phosphorylation, indicating alteration of IGF-IR signaling. Soft agar colony assay using IGF-IR knockout vs. wild-type fibroblasts, IRS-1 phosphorylation assay The Journal of biological chemistry High 9388225
1998 TEL (ETV6) binds directly to FLI1 via its helix-loop-helix domain and inhibits FLI1-mediated transactivation of megakaryocytic promoters; full inhibition requires the complete TEL molecule including its DNA-binding domain. Yeast two-hybrid screen, in vitro and in vivo binding assays, transient transfection with deletion mutants The Journal of biological chemistry High 9651344
1999 FLI1 overexpression in primary erythroblasts inhibits apoptosis (correlating with bcl2 upregulation), inhibits terminal differentiation, and induces proliferation; it prevents downregulation of cyclins D2 and D3 during differentiation. Retroviral transduction of primary avian erythroblasts, Epo deprivation/differentiation assays, Western blot for BCL2/cyclins Oncogene High 10102630
2001 FLI1 inhibits COL1A2 (collagen alpha2(I)) promoter activity in dermal fibroblasts via direct DNA binding to a critical ETS site and via indirect protein-protein interaction through Sp1; FLI1 competes with ETS-1 at the COL1A2 promoter; an Sp1-FLI1 complex may recruit a co-repressor for maximal inhibition. Stable transfection, reporter/promoter assays, in vitro DNA-protein binding assays, dominant-negative and DNA-binding mutants, Gal4 fusion experiments The Journal of biological chemistry High 11278621
2003 FLI1 represses EKLF-dependent beta-globin transcription by using the repression activity of its ETS DNA-binding domain and indirect recruitment to erythroid promoters via protein-protein interaction with EKLF; FLI1 enhances GATA-1 activity but represses EKLF activity; EKLF reciprocally represses FLI1-dependent megakaryocytic GPIX promoter, establishing a cross-antagonism controlling erythroid vs. megakaryocytic fate. Transient transfection reporter assays, co-immunoprecipitation, Gal4 fusion assays, deletion mutant analysis Molecular and cellular biology High 12556498
2003 EWS/FLI1 blocks myogenic differentiation in C2C12 myoblasts requiring nuclear localization and DNA-binding functions; it suppresses MyoD and myogenin at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels, and constitutively induces cyclin D1 while decreasing p21(cip1). Retroviral transduction of C2C12 cells, differentiation assays, RT-PCR, Western blot, DNA-binding mutant analysis Molecular and cellular biology High 12509448
2005 FLI1 directly binds the MDM2 promoter at a consensus ETS binding site in vitro and in vivo, activating MDM2 transcription; FLI1 overexpression correlates with elevated MDM2 and reduced p53 in erythroleukemic tissues. Chromatin immunoprecipitation, in vitro DNA binding assay, reporter gene assay, in vivo tissue correlation Oncogene High 15592502
2005 FLI1, ELF1, and ETS1 bind conserved Ets sites in the LMO2 proximal promoter in vivo in hematopoietic progenitor and endothelial cells, controlling LMO2 transcription; transgenic analysis confirmed this promoter is sufficient for endothelial expression in vivo. ChIP, transient and stable transfection, real-time RT-PCR, transgenic mouse analysis Blood High 15994290
2006 RNA helicase A (RHA) physically binds EWS-FLI1 (residues 630-1020 of RHA); endogenous RHA forms a complex with EWS-FLI1 in ESFT cells; both proteins co-occupy EWS-FLI1 target gene promoters; RHA stimulates EWS-FLI1 transcriptional activity including Id2, and enhances anchorage-independent growth when co-expressed with EWS-FLI1. Phage display screening, GST pull-down, ELISA, co-immunoprecipitation, ChIP, transcriptional reporter assays, soft agar colony assay Cancer research High 16740692
2007 GATA2, FLI1, and SCL/TAL1 form a recursively wired gene-regulatory circuit during hematopoietic specification; each transcription factor binds to the enhancers of the other two (Fli1+12, Gata2-3, Scl+19 enhancers), all of which use Ets/GATA/E-Box motif clusters; these enhancers are co-occupied by all three factors in HSCs, fetal liver, and hemangioblast equivalents. ChIP, enhancer-driven reporter assays, transgenic analysis, conservation analysis Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America High 17962413
2014 FLI1 directly binds Ets-binding sites within the CCL5 promoter and drives its transcription in a dose-dependent manner; mutation of FLI1 DNA-binding domain reduces CCL5 promoter transactivation; ETS1 acts as a dominant-negative for FLI1 at shared CCL5 promoter sites. ChIP, siRNA knockdown, transient transfection reporter assays, site-directed mutagenesis Journal of immunology High 25098295
2014 FLI1 acts downstream of ETV2 in vascular development; ETV2 binds conserved Ets sites in the FLI1 promoter to govern FLI1 expression; once ETV2 is downregulated at midgestation, FLI1 replaces ETV2 at its own promoter (positive autoregulation) and at promoters of other endothelial genes including Tie2, sustaining endothelial cell survival and vascular integrity. ChIP, promoter binding assays, loss- and gain-of-function experiments in mouse embryos and cell lines Circulation research High 24727028
2015 EWS-FLI1 interacts with spliceosomal complex proteins (DDX5, hnRNP K, PRPF6, RNA helicase A) and regulates alternative splicing of cancer-relevant genes (CLK1, CASP3, PPFIBP1, TERT); EWS-FLI1 RNA-binding motifs cluster near intron-exon boundaries (CLIP-seq); the small molecule YK-4-279 disrupts EWS-FLI1 interaction with DDX5 and RHA, altering RNA splicing ratios. CLIP-seq, exon array, RNA-seq, co-immunoprecipitation, small molecule inhibitor (YK-4-279) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America High 25737553
2015 EWS-FLI1 reduces RHA helicase activity in a dose-dependent manner without affecting intrinsic ATPase activity; (S)-YK-4-279 reverses this inhibition; EWS-FLI1 has a novel RNA-binding property that alters the RNA-binding profile of both EWS-FLI1 and RHA. In vitro helicase activity assay, ATPase assay, enantiomer-specific small molecule reversal, RNA binding assays Nucleic acids research High 25564528
2015 Crystal structures of FLI1 DBD alone and in complex with GGAA-containing DNA reveal a previously unrecognized helix-swapped homodimer stabilized by hydrophobic interactions centered on Phe362; Phe362Ala mutation disrupts dimerization without perturbing structure or DNA binding, indicating dimerization is distinct from DNA binding function. X-ray crystallography, solution dimerization assays, site-directed mutagenesis (Phe362Ala) Biochemistry High 26618620
2016 Crystal structures of mithramycin analogues (MTM SA-Trp, MTM SA-Phe) bound to DNA containing GGAA (a FLI1 binding site) reveal minor-groove binding that perturbs FLI1 bound in the major groove; NMR demonstrates formation of a ternary FLI1-DNA-MTM complex on a single GGAA site; sub-micromolar MTM stabilizes FLI1-DNA complex on GGAA repeats. X-ray crystallography, NMR, electromobility shift assay Nucleic acids research High 27587584
2016 FLI1 directly binds the CXCL2 promoter (established by ChIP) and drives its transcription dose-dependently in endothelial cells; both FLI1 and NF-κB p65 additively regulate CXCL2 activation. ChIP, siRNA knockdown, transient transfection reporter assays Molecular immunology High 27889620
2016 Acetylation of FLI1 by p300/CBP and PCAF at the C-terminal DNA-binding domain increases its DNA-binding activity in vitro and increases EWS-FLI1 transcriptional activity; HDAC inhibitor treatment increases EWS-FLI1 transcriptional activity. In vitro acetylation assay, EMSA, co-transfection with acetyltransferases (PCAF, p300/CBP), HDI treatment Frontiers in oncology Medium 22973553
2016 FLI1-driven activation of the G-CSF promoter is regulated by acetylation: mutation of a known FLI1 acetylation site increases G-CSF promoter activation, while the acetyltransferases p300/CBP and PCAF decrease FLI1-specific G-CSF promoter transactivation; FLI1 DNA-binding domain mutation reduces transactivation by 94%. ChIP, transient transfection reporter assays, acetyltransferase co-transfection, site-directed mutagenesis of acetylation and DNA-binding sites European journal of immunology High 27431361
2017 FLI1 deficiency in endothelial cells promotes migration, proliferation, and cell survival, while abating tube formation; FLI1 deficiency activates integrin αvβ3/αvβ5-mediated TGFβ activation and triggers endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. siRNA knockdown, scratch/transwell migration assays, BrdU proliferation assay, flow cytometry apoptosis assay, Matrigel tube formation, ChIP for TGFβ/integrin promoters Experimental dermatology / Arthritis & rheumatology High 25385187 28370536
2017 FLI1 directly regulates AIRE expression in epithelial cells; keratin 14-specific Fli1 knockout mice spontaneously develop dermal and esophageal fibrosis with epithelial activation and systemic autoimmunity including thymic defects. Keratin 14-Cre conditional knockout, ChIP for Aire promoter, gene silencing in keratinocytes The Journal of experimental medicine High 28232470
2017 Combined knockdown of ERG and FLI1 in endothelial cells induces endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition coupled with dynamic epigenetic changes; genome-wide analysis shows ERG and FLI1 are critical transcriptional activators of EC-specific genes; microRNA-126 partially mediates EndMT blockade downstream of ERG/FLI1; ERG and FLI1 expression is downregulated in tumor-associated ECs by soluble factors. siRNA knockdown, genome-wide expression profiling, ATAC-seq/epigenomic analysis, miR-126 functional assays PLoS genetics High 30500808
2018 A circular RNA (FECR1) derived from FLI1 exons 4-2-3 activates FLI1 expression via a positive feedback loop: FECR1 binds the FLI1 promoter in cis and recruits TET1 demethylase to induce DNA hypomethylation; FECR1 also binds and downregulates DNMT1 in trans, cooperatively maintaining FLI1 promoter hypomethylation. CRISPR-Cas9-guided chromatin immunoprecipitation, RIP assay, bisulfite sequencing, overexpression/knockdown, invasion assays Genome biology High 30537986
2019 SPOP E3 ubiquitin ligase and OTUD7A deubiquitinase control EWS-FLI1 protein stability: casein kinase 1-mediated phosphorylation of the VTSSS degron in the FLI1 domain enhances SPOP-mediated degradation of EWS-FLI1; OTUD7A deubiquitinates and stabilizes EWS-FLI1; depletion of OTUD7A reduces EWS-FLI1 abundance and impedes Ewing sarcoma growth in vitro and in vivo. Co-immunoprecipitation, ubiquitination assays, OTUD7A knockdown, phosphodegron mutagenesis, xenograft mouse model Advanced science High 34060252
2019 USP19 deubiquitinase stabilizes EWS-FLI1 by binding the N-terminal EWS region; depletion of USP19 reduces EWS-FLI1 protein levels; this stabilization is specific to the fusion protein (not wild-type FLI1 or EWSR1 alone); stable USP19 knockdown decreases growth and colony formation in vitro and delays tumor growth in vivo. siRNA screen, co-immunoprecipitation, shRNA knockdown, xenograft model Scientific reports High 30700749
2021 FLI1 restrains CD8+ effector T cell (TEFF) differentiation by binding cis-regulatory elements of effector-associated genes; loss of FLI1 increases chromatin accessibility at ETS:RUNX motifs, allowing Runx3-driven TEFF biology; genetic deletion of Fli1 enhances TEFF responses without compromising memory or exhaustion precursors, improving protection against infections and tumors. In vivo CRISPR screen, genetic deletion, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, infection/tumor challenge models Cell High 33636129
2021 EWS-FLI1 low-complexity (LC) domain is required for assembly into protein granules in Ewing sarcoma cells; EWS-FLI1 can self-assemble via its LC domain and bind RNA Pol II; EWSR1 knockdown affects many EWS-FLI1-regulated transcripts, suggesting co-assembly in shared complexes. siRNA knockdown, RNA-seq, cross-linking-based protein assembly assay, co-immunoprecipitation RNA Medium 34035145
2022 Fli1 restricts NK cell memory precursor (MP) formation by regulating the pro-apoptotic factor Bim; Fli1 is induced by STAT5 signaling in NK cells; MP NK cells have a core epigenetic signature enriched in ETS1 and Fli1 DNA-binding motifs; Fli1 induction in early effector NK cells increases Bim levels and limits NK cell survival during contraction. Single-cell RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, ex vivo STAT5 stimulation, genetic Fli1 manipulation, viral infection model Nature immunology High 35288713
2023 ETV6 competes with EWS-FLI1 for binding at select DNA elements enriched for short GGAA repeat sequences; inactivating ETV6 allows EWS-FLI1 to hyper-activate these cis-elements, promoting mesenchymal differentiation via SOX11 as a key downstream target; a dominant-interfering ETV6 peptide squelches ETV6 and suppresses Ewing sarcoma growth in vivo. Domain-focused CRISPR screen, biochemical competition assays, epigenomics (ChIP-seq), dominant-interfering peptide, in vivo xenograft model Nature cell biology High 36658219
2024 FLI1 orchestrates IDO1 transcription in response to IFN-γ by facilitating recruitment of CBP and STAT1 and increasing chromatin accessibility at the IDO1 locus; this drives increased kynurenine synthesis leading to CD8+ T cell exhaustion and Treg differentiation; pharmacological FLI1 inhibition blocks the CBP/STAT1-IDO1-kynurenine axis. siRNA/shRNA knockdown, ChIP, ATAC-seq, co-immunoprecipitation of FLI1-CBP-STAT1, pharmacological inhibition, T cell functional assays Nature communications High 38816360
2002 IL-6 induces Fli-1 expression via STAT3; this induction is blocked by the JAK inhibitor AG490 and by dominant-negative STAT3, establishing a JAK-STAT3-FLI1 signaling axis. Pharmacological inhibition (AG490), dominant-negative STAT3 transfection, Western blot/RT-PCR for FLI1 induction Biochemical and biophysical research communications Medium 11890706
2003 FLI1-transformed erythroblasts upregulate SLAP, which forms a specific complex with EpoR; SLAP constitutive expression impairs hemoglobinization and inhibits Epo-dependent STAT5 activation and BCL-X upregulation, establishing FLI1 inhibition of erythroid differentiation through SLAP-mediated EpoR signaling interference. Co-immunoprecipitation, retroviral overexpression, Epo differentiation assays, Western blot for STAT5 phosphorylation Blood High 12946994
2012 EWS-FLI1 directly activates transcription of PRKCB (PKC-β), which in turn phosphorylates histone H3T6 to maintain H3K4 trimethylation at gene promoters in Ewing sarcoma; PKC-β loss induces apoptosis and prevents tumor growth in vivo. ChIP, siRNA knockdown, gene expression profiling, xenograft tumor model, histone modification assays Cancer research High 22930730
2016 FLI1 directly binds the promoters of SHIP-1 and GATA-1 target genes; anti-Fli-1 drug treatment inhibits FLI1 DNA binding to these targets; a FLI1-miR-145 autoregulatory loop exists where FLI1 represses miR-145, and diterpenoid inhibitors relieve this repression to further downregulate FLI1. ChIP, DNA binding assays, promoter reporter assays, miR-145 functional studies, in vivo erythroleukemia model Cell death & disease Medium 30741932
2019 Trabectedin evicts the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex from chromatin and redistributes EWS-FLI1 in the nucleus, leading to increased H3K27me3 and H3K9me3 at EWS-FLI1 target genes and suppression of their expression. Biochemical chromatin fractionation, ChIP-seq, confocal microscopy, qPCR, Western blot, cell viability assays, in vivo 18F-FLT imaging Clinical cancer research High 30723142
2020 RING1B colocalizes with EWSR1-FLI1 at active enhancers (in addition to its canonical repressive Polycomb function) and is necessary for EWSR1-FLI1 recruitment to enhancers and expression of key EWS-FLI1 target genes; RING1B knockdown impairs tumor xenograft growth. ChIP-seq, siRNA knockdown, xenograft model, AURKB pharmacological inhibition Science advances High 33097530
2021 YAP binds TEAD1 to inhibit FLI1 expression during endothelial cell differentiation from pluripotent stem cells; FLI1 overexpression rescues YAP overexpression-mediated inhibition of EC differentiation, placing FLI1 downstream of YAP/TEAD1 in the EC commitment pathway. Luciferase reporter assay for FLI1 promoter, siRNA knockdown of YAP, FLI1 overexpression rescue, microarray analysis Journal of molecular and cellular cardiology Medium 34666000
2022 FLI1 regulates expression of claudin-5, occludin, and ZO-1 in glioma endothelial cells by binding to their promoter regions, controlling blood-tumour barrier permeability; this is upstream of a miR-194-5p/FLI1 axis. Luciferase assay (miR-194-5p target validation), siRNA knockdown, promoter binding assays, barrier permeability assay Journal of cellular and molecular medicine Medium 31654502

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 100 papers · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
2005 Immunohistochemical expression of endothelial markers CD31, CD34, von Willebrand factor, and Fli-1 in normal human tissues. The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society 661 16234507
2018 A novel FLI1 exonic circular RNA promotes metastasis in breast cancer by coordinately regulating TET1 and DNMT1. Genome biology 352 30537986
2018 EWS-FLI1 increases transcription to cause R-loops and block BRCA1 repair in Ewing sarcoma. Nature 254 29513652
1997 The insulin-like growth factor-I receptor is required for EWS/FLI-1 transformation of fibroblasts. The Journal of biological chemistry 200 9388225
2001 Expression of Fli-1, a nuclear transcription factor, distinguishes vascular neoplasms from potential mimics. The American journal of surgical pathology 185 11474291
2007 Gata2, Fli1, and Scl form a recursively wired gene-regulatory circuit during early hematopoietic development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 183 17962413
2021 In vivo CD8+ T cell CRISPR screening reveals control by Fli1 in infection and cancer. Cell 166 33636129
1995 Multiple domains mediate transformation by the Ewing's sarcoma EWS/FLI-1 fusion gene. Oncogene 164 7845667
1993 EWS/Fli-1 chimeric protein is a transcriptional activator. Cancer research 159 7503813
2001 Fli-1 inhibits collagen type I production in dermal fibroblasts via an Sp1-dependent pathway. The Journal of biological chemistry 144 11278621
1994 EWS-erg and EWS-Fli1 fusion transcripts in Ewing's sarcoma and primitive neuroectodermal tumors with variant translocations. The Journal of clinical investigation 139 8040301
1996 EWS/FLI-1 antagonists induce growth inhibition of Ewing tumor cells in vitro. Cell growth & differentiation : the molecular biology journal of the American Association for Cancer Research 124 9052984
1998 The ets family member Tel binds to the Fli-1 oncoprotein and inhibits its transcriptional activity. The Journal of biological chemistry 122 9651344
2015 Oncogenic fusion protein EWS-FLI1 is a network hub that regulates alternative splicing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 121 25737553
2010 Oncogenic partnerships: EWS-FLI1 protein interactions initiate key pathways of Ewing's sarcoma. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research 120 20547696
2014 Simultaneous downregulation of KLF5 and Fli1 is a key feature underlying systemic sclerosis. Nature communications 114 25504335
2003 Functional cross-antagonism between transcription factors FLI-1 and EKLF. Molecular and cellular biology 114 12556498
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