We had previously shown that p23-overexpressing MCF-7 cells (MCF-7+p23) exhibit increased invasion without affecting the estrogen-dependent proliferative response, which suggests that p23 differentially regulates genes controlling processes linked to breast tumor metastasis.
Our findings demonstrate that p23 differentially regulates ER target genes and is involved in the control of distinct cellular processes in breast tumor development, thus revealing novel functions of this cochaperone.
Analysis of expression of Harvey-ras related oncogenes in human malignant breast tumours and in their respective normal tissue has revealed a significant elevation of Harvey-ras transcripts in malignant as compared to normal tissue.