Emerging role of Fli1 in autoimmune diseases

The Ets transcription factor family exerts crucial role in cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation and migration. Friend leukemia integration 1 (Fli1), a member of the Ets family, is expressed in fibroblasts, endothelial cells and immune cells. Fli1 gene is participated in the development, proliferation, activation, migration and other processes of immune cells. Fli1 can also affect the function of immune cells by regulating cytokines and chemokines. Emerging evidence has shown that Fli1 is implicated in the etiology of several autoimmune diseases, including systemic sclerosis (SSc) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this review, we mainly discuss the current evidence for the role of Fli1 in these diseases.