Pioneer factors in hormone-dependent cancers

• Published in: Nature reviews. Cancer Vol. 12; no. 6; pp. 381 - 385
• Main Authors: Jozwik, Kamila M., Carroll, Jason S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.06.2012; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/45/612/822; 631/45/776; 692/699/67/1347; 692/699/67/589/466; 70; Androgens; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - genetics; Breast Neoplasms - metabolism; Cancer Research; Chromatin; Development and progression; DNA-Binding Proteins - genetics; DNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Drug Design; Estrogens; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-alpha - genetics; Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-alpha - metabolism; Hormones - metabolism; Humans; Male; Neoplasms - genetics; Neoplasms - metabolism; Nuclear receptors; Physiological aspects; Pre-B-Cell Leukemia Transcription Factor 1; progress; Prostate cancer; Prostatic Neoplasms - genetics; Prostatic Neoplasms - metabolism; Proto-Oncogene Proteins - genetics; Proto-Oncogene Proteins - metabolism; Receptors, Androgen - metabolism; Receptors, Estrogen - metabolism; Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 1474-175X; 1474-1768
• DOI: 10.1038/nrc3263

Pioneer factors are a special class of transcription factor that can associate with compacted chromatin to facilitate the binding of additional transcription factors. This Progress article discusses the importance of pioneer factors in breast cancer and prostate cancer. Pioneer factors are a special class of transcription factor that can associate with compacted chromatin to facilitate the binding of additional transcription factors. The function of pioneer factors was originally described during development; more recently, they have been implicated in hormone-dependent cancers, such as oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer and androgen receptor-positive prostate cancer. We discuss the importance of pioneer factors in these specific cancers, the discovery of new putative pioneer factors and the interplay between these proteins in mediating nuclear receptor function in cancer.