Forkheads in neuroblastoma & human longevity: From the womb to the tomb

The forkhead box family of transcription factors includes 50 different transcription factors classified into 19 subfamilies that all contain an approximately 100 amino acid DNA binding domain referred to as the forkhead domain. This Thesis describes the roles of the forkheads FOXR1 and FOXO3A in the pediatric cancer neuroblastoma and includes the importance of the PI3K/mTOR pathway in the regulation of FOXO3A-mediated apoptosis. Additionally, the characterization of the novel FOXO3A-related gene product FOXO3A2 is described as well as its fundamental links to insulin signaling and human longevity.