Impact Factor ISSN: 1449-2288
Int J Biol Sci 2011; 7(5):664-672. doi:10.7150/ijbs.7.664 This issue Cite
Review
SRC-3 Has a Role in Cancer Other Than as a Nuclear Receptor Coactivator
Department of Surgical Oncology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical School, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 710061, P. R. China
Abstract
Steroid receptor coactivator-3 (SRC-3), also known as AIB1, is a member of the p160 steroid receptor coactivator family. Since SRC-3 was found to be amplified in breast cancer in 1997, the role of SRC-3 in cancer has been broadly investigated. SRC-3 initially was identified as a transcriptional coactivator for nuclear receptors such as the estrogen receptor (ER), involved in the proliferation of hormone-dependent cancers. However, increasing clinical evidence shows that dysregulation of SRC-3 expression in several human hormone-independent cancers is correlated with pathological factors and clinical prognosis. Recently, both in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrate that SRC-3 may influence a number of cancer cellular processes in several ways independent of nuclear receptor signaling. In addition, an SRC-3 transgenic mice model shows that SRC-3 induces tumors in several mouse tissues. These results indicate that the role of SRC-3 in cancer is not just as a nuclear receptor coactivator. The focus of this review is to examine possible SRC-3 roles in cancer, other than as a nuclear receptor coactivator.
Keywords: Steroid receptor coactivator-3, mice model, tumorigenesis, cell cycle, apoptosis, invasion and metastasis