Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms that underlie disease development is still a tremendous challenge for basic science, and a prerequisite to the development of new and disease-specific targeted therapies. This review focuses on the function of SNAI2, a member of the Snail family of zinc-finger transcription factors, and discusses its possible role in disease development. SNAI2 has been implicated in diseases of melanocyte development and cancer in humans. Many malignancies arise from a rare population of cells that alone have the ability to self-renew and sustain the tumor (i.e., cancer stem cells). SNAI2 controls key aspects of stem cell function in mouse and human, suggesting that similar mechanisms control normal development and cancer stem cell properties. These insights are expected to contribute significantly to the genetics of cancer and to the development of both cancer therapy and new methods for assessing treatment efficacy.

中文翻译：

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锌指转录因子SNAI2在癌症和发育中的功能。

阐明构成疾病发展基础的分子机制仍然是基础科学面临的巨大挑战，也是开发新的和针对特定疾病的靶向疗法的先决条件。这篇综述着重于SNAI2的功能，SNAI2是Snail家族的锌指转录因子家族的成员，并讨论了其在疾病发展中的可能作用。SNAI2与人类黑素细胞发育疾病和癌症有关。许多恶性肿瘤来自稀有细胞，这些细胞仅具有自我更新和维持肿瘤的能力（即癌症干细胞）。SNAI2控制着小鼠和人类干细胞功能的关键方面，表明相似的机制控制着正常发育和癌症干细胞特性。