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Ectopic expression of hC/EBPs in breast tumor cells induces apoptosis

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Abstract

CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPs) are a group of transcription factors which have been implicated in cellular proliferation, terminal differentiation, and apoptosis in a variety of tissues including mammary gland. Owing to its role in various cellular functions, inactivation of C/EBP proteins is central to the pathogenesis of many disorders. Recent reports suggest that expression as well as function of C/EBP proteins is deregulated in breast tumors. Although, role of C/EBPs in growth arrest in mammary tissues has been studied in much detail; their role in apoptosis is relatively less explored. In the present study, we have assessed if breast tumors evade apoptosis and grow faster by down regulating and inhibiting the C/EBP proteins, C/EBPα in particular. Our data shows that ectopic expression of human C/EBPs in breast tumor cells inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis which is likely to be associated with caspase dependent pathway.

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Acknowledgments

We are very thankful to the council of scientific and industrial research (CSIR) and CDRI for their financial (IAP-0001) and generous support in the preparation of the manuscript. We also thank ICMR for providing research fellowship to Pooja Pal. The institutional (CDRI) communication number for this article is 7825.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Drug Target Discovery and Development Division (DTDD), Central Drug Research Institute, CDRI, Chhattar Manzil, P.O. 173, Lucknow, UP, 226001, India

    Pooja Pal, Savita Lochab, Jitendra Kanaujiya, Sabyasachi Sanyal & Arun Kumar Trivedi

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  1. Pooja Pal
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  2. Savita Lochab
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  3. Jitendra Kanaujiya
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  4. Sabyasachi Sanyal
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  5. Arun Kumar Trivedi
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Correspondence to Arun Kumar Trivedi.

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Pal, P., Lochab, S., Kanaujiya, J. et al. Ectopic expression of hC/EBPs in breast tumor cells induces apoptosis. Mol Cell Biochem 337, 111–118 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-009-0290-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-009-0290-3

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