THE V-ERBA ONCOGENE - A SUPERB TOOL FOR DISSECTING THE INVOLVEMENT OF NUCLEAR HORMONE RECEPTORS IN DIFFERENTIATION AND NEOPLASIA (REVIEW)
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- Published online on: January 1, 1995 https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.6.1.215
- Pages: 215-231
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Abstract
The v-erbA oncogene has been discovered as one of the two viral oncogenes carried by the avian leukemia retrovirus AEV. It is derived from the c-erbA protooncogene which encodes the alpha form of the nuclear receptor for the thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3R). This receptor belongs to a large family of nuclear hormone receptors that function as ligand-regulated transcription factors and the v-erbA oncoprotein has been shown to function as an antagonist of normal T3R and related receptors in the control of transcription. It is thus the first dominant negative transcription factor acting as an oncogene described to date. Functional and biochemical dissections of this oncogene have brought many informations on the mechanisms of action of normal receptors and on the ways through which altered receptors can contribute to oncogenic transformation. The v-erbA model is widely used as a reference to investigate the involvement of nuclear hormone receptors in the development of human cancers.