Crosstalk and DC-SCRIPT: expanding nuclear receptor modulation

Abstract

Nuclear receptors (NR) are intracellular receptors that execute a transcriptional program upon binding to hormones, vitamins and metabolic products. They are key regulators of distinct physiological processes, including growth and differentiation, metabolism, and immunity. The impact of NR activation on a given cell can differ from proliferation induction to programmed cell death. NR malfunction is associated with different diseases, such as diabetes, chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer. Much progress has been made towards understanding the transcriptional regulation by individual NR at the molecular level. However, essentially every cell expresses multiple NR and will encounter complex mixtures of NR ligands during its life cycle. In this review, we will focus on novel insights in balancing NR activity via NR crosstalk and DC-SCRIPT/ZNF366, a bi-functional NR coregulator. The impact on breast cancer development and prognosis will be discussed.