Repressor Linked to Improved Survival in Breast Cancer

DACH1 reduces the estrogen-dependent growth of breast cancer cells

FRIDAY, July 17 (HealthDay News) -- Expression of a repressor of estrogen receptors reduces the growth of breast cancer cells and is associated with improved prognosis, according to a study in the July 15 issue of Cancer Research.

Following up on a previous study showing that expression of the cell fate determination factor DACH1 in breast cancers was associated with improved survival, and given the importance of estrogen receptor-α (ERα) in breast cells, Vladimir M. Popov, from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and colleagues investigated the association between DACH1 and estrogen signaling.

The researchers found that DACH1 and ERα expression were inversely correlated in human breast cancers. DACH1 inhibited ligand-dependent ERα activity, cell growth and DNA synthesis, and further studies identified a DACH1-binding protein that could reverse DACH1-mediated ERα repression.

"DACH1 expression, which is lost in poor prognosis human breast cancer, functions as an endogenous inhibitor of ERα function," Popov and colleagues conclude.

Abstract
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