The ING tumor suppressor genes: Status in human tumors

ING genes (ING1-5) were identified has tumor suppressor genes. ING proteins are characterized as Type II TSGs since they are involved in the control of cell proliferation, apoptosis and senescence. They may also function as Type I TSGs since they are also involved in DNA replication and repair. Most studies have reported that they are frequently lost in human tumors and epigenetic mechanisms or misregulation of their transcription may be involved. Recently, studies have described that this loss may be caused by microRNA inhibition. Here, we summarize the current knowledge on ING functions, their involvement in tumor suppression and, in order to give a full assessment of the current knowledge, we review all the studies that have examined ING status in human cancers.