In cancer cells, elevated transcription factor-related Brn-3a regulator isolated from brain cDNA (Brn-3b) transcription factor enhances proliferation in vitro and increases tumour growth in vivo whilst conferring drug resistance and migratory potential, whereas reducing Brn-3b slows growth both in vitro and in vivo.
This is a follow-up of our previous work in which for the first time Brn-3a and E6 levels in cervical smears from women in United Kingdom were shown to correlate with the histological diagnosis of cervical neoplasia and were even better in predicting underlying pre-malignant disease than conventional procedures.
We define the G-protein-coupled receptor RDC1 as a tumor endothelial marker whose expression is distinctly induced in tumor endothelial cells of both brain and peripheral vasculature.
To test the role of Brn-3a in cervical neoplasia we have manipulated its expression in cervical carcinoma-derived cell lines with or without endogenous HPV genes.
Although nine bronchial tumors produced POMC, there was no association between Brn3a levels and POMC gene expression; the two tumors with the highest POMC messenger ribonucleic acid contents were two bronchial carcinoids with barely detectable Brn3a levels.