BIRC7

Overview

BIRC7 (baculoviral IAP repeat containing 7, also known as ML-IAP/livin) is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein. It is overexpressed in tumors with MiTF family fusion or amplification events in non-clear-cell renal cell carcinoma, where it has been proposed as both a diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target.

Alterations observed in the corpus

  • Overexpressed in 6/7 MiTF-fusion/amplification (MiTF-high) samples in nccRCC; proposed as a therapeutic target via BIRC7 inhibitors/apoptosis-sensitizing agents PMID:25401301

Cancer types (linked)

  • PRCC / TRCC: BIRC7 overexpression marks the MiTF-high subtype (ACTG1-MITF, TFE3, TFEB fusions/amplifications) across pRCC and tRCC subtypes PMID:25401301

Co-occurrence and mutual exclusivity

  • Co-expressed with MITF, TFE3, and TFEB fusion/amplification events; mechanistically downstream of MiTF transcriptional activation PMID:25401301

Therapeutic relevance

  • BIRC7 expression proposed as a diagnostic biomarker for MiTF-high tumors and as a therapeutic target via BIRC7-directed apoptosis-sensitizing agents in clinical development PMID:25401301

Open questions

  • Whether BIRC7 inhibition is selectively lethal in MiTF-high tumors (vs normal kidney) and whether it can be combined with MET inhibitors awaits clinical testing PMID:25401301

Sources

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