20 years of NF-kappa B

We are celebrating this year 20 years of research dedicated to the transcription factor NF-kB. From 1986, the year of its initial identification as a DNA-binding activity for the enhancer of the immunoglobulin k light-chain in activated B cells by David Baltimore and colleagues [1] to 2006, almost 20000 papers related to this transcription factor were published, which means three reports per day. This amazing amount of data generated over the years and throughout the world reflects the critical roles played by NF-kB in biology. It is indeed increasingly difficult to find circumstances where NF-kB is not involved at one point. One reason is due to the amazing amount of signals that can activate NF-kB. They include bacterial, viral and fungal products but also inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress and therapeutically used drugs (as reviewed by Y. Habraken and J. Piette in this issue) and are listed in Tom Gilmore’s website (www.nf-kb.org) (Boston University). Another reason is due to the functional kB sites found in about one hundred genes [2]. These numerous NF-kB target genes play critical roles in cell survival and proliferation, as well as in innate and adaptive immunity, which reflects the essential role of this transcription factor in physiology and diseases.Insight into the oncogenic potential of BCL-