title: Vitamin D and breast cancer: emerging concepts.
abstract: The benefit of vitamin D in cancer prevention and to certain extent therapy has been well recognized. The active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25(OH)2 D3) is a natural ligand for vitamin D receptor (VDR). Since 1,25(OH)2D3 exerts toxic effects at a concentration that is beneficial, nearly 1500 analogs of vitamin D have been synthesized and evaluated for their efficacy in a variety of carcinogenesis and human cancer models both in vitro and in vivo. Among these only a handful of them have been approved for evaluation in clinical trials for leukemia, breast, prostate and colon cancers. The mechanism of vitamin D action is mediated by the nuclear VDR and the signaling cascade for its action is extensively reported. In this review we focus on the newer concepts for vitamin D action. These include (1) differential effects of vitamin D in maintaining cell proliferation when the cells are under stress but suppressing cell growth when the cells are transformed; (2) functional significance of VDR polymorphism in potential vitamin D responsiveness; (3) regulation of constitutive splicing of vitamin D target gene, CYP24a, by the hormone and its significance; and (4) regulation of microRNA by vitamin D in breast cancer. It is anticipated that the new work in these selective areas would expand the understanding of vitamin D in breast cancer prevention and therapy.
authors.affiliation: IIT Research Institute, 10 West 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60616, United States. Electronic address: RMehta@iitri.org.
authors.forename: Rajendra G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.affiliation: IIT Research Institute, 10 West 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60616, United States.
authors.forename: Xinjian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: IIT Research Institute, 10 West 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60616, United States.
authors.forename: Fatouma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alimirah
authors.affiliation: IIT Research Institute, 10 West 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60616, United States.
authors.forename: Genoveva
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Murillo
authors.affiliation: IIT Research Institute, 10 West 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60616, United States.
authors.forename: Rajeshwari
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mehta
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D065668:Vitamin D3 24-Hydroxylase / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D014807:Vitamin D; C585549:CYP24A1 protein, human; D065668:Vitamin D3 24-Hydroxylase