EVI1 and hematopoietic disorders: History and perspectives

The ecotropic viral integration site 1 (EVI1) gene was identified almost 20 years ago as the integration site of an ecotropic retrovirus leading to murine myeloid leukemia. Since its identification, EVI1 has slowly been recognized as one of the most aggressive oncogenes associated with human leukemia. Despite the effort of many investigators, still very little is known about this gene. The mechanism by which EVI1 operates in the transformation of hematopoietic cells is not known, but it is clear that EVI1 upregulates cell proliferation, impairs cell differentiation, and induces cell transformation. In this review, we summarize the biochemical properties of EVI1 and the effects of EVI1 in biological models.