More on FOX News: FOXA1 on the horizon of estrogen receptor function and endocrine response
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* Corresponding author: Rachel Schiff rschiff@bcm.edu
1 Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, BCM600, Houston, TX 77030, USA
2 Dan L Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
3 Margaret M and Albert B Alkek Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
4 Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Breast Cancer Research 2011, 13:307 doi:10.1186/bcr2849
Published: 20 April 2011Abstract
Estrogen receptor α (ER) is a major driver of breast cancer and the target of endocrine therapy. Full disclosure of the cofactors regulating ER interactions with chromatin and its transcriptional regulatory activity is still elusive. Novel genome-wide profiling tools have mapped ER binding events in breast cancer cells and delineated cofactors important in ER activity. Among these, the Forkhead protein FOXA1 is emerging as a key factor dictating global chromatin structure and the transcriptional function of ER in breast and non-breast cancer cells. The significance of FOXA1 in the chromatin interactions and transcriptional regulation of both estrogen- and tamoxifen-bound ER, and in supporting tamoxifen-resistant cell growth, may impact current endocrine therapies.