title: SNAIL vs vitamin D receptor expression in colon cancer: therapeutics implications.
abstract: Vitamin D analogues with reduced hypercalcemic activity are under clinical investigation for use against colon cancer and other neoplasias. However, only a subset of patients responds to this therapy, most probably due to loss of vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression during tumour progression. Recent data show that SNAIL transcription factor represses VDR expression, and thus abolishes the antiproliferative and prodifferentiation effects of VDR ligands in cultured cancer cells and their antitumour action in xenografted mice. Accordingly, upregulation of SNAIL in human colon tumours associates with downregulation of VDR. These findings suggest that SNAIL may be associated with loss of responsiveness to vitamin D analogues and may thus be used as an indicator of patients who are unlikely to respond to this therapy.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas 'Alberto Sols', Arturo Duperier 4, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28029 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Larriba
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muñoz
mesh_terms: D002117:Calcitriol / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000494:pharmacology; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D000071250:Snail Family Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D000071250:Snail Family Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors; D002117:Calcitriol