TRF2 also plays a role in neuronal gene silencing, stem cell fate and cancer cell survival through its interaction with repressor element 1-silencing transcription factor (REST), though direct interaction with DNA has not been implicated, we speculate that the ability of TRF2 to bind non-telomeric sequences plays a role in this (Kwon et al, 2013; Zhang et al, 2008). Here, REST is linked to cancer.