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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Microarray-based Identification of Individual HERV Loci Expression: Application to Biomarker Discovery in Prostate Cancer
Published on: November 2, 2013
Brn-3a neuronal transcription factor functional expression in human prostate cancer
J K J Diss1, D J Faulkes, M M Walker
1Medical Molecular Biology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK. j.diss@ich.ucl.ac.uk
Abstract:
Neuroendocrine differentiation has been associated with prostate cancer (CaP). Brn-3a (short isoform) and Brn-3c, transcriptional controllers of neuronal differentiation, were readily detectable in human CaP both in vitro and in vivo. Brn-3a expression, but not Brn-3c, was significantly upregulated in >50% of tumours. Furthermore, overexpression of this transcription factor in vitro (i) potentiated CaP cell growth and (ii) regulated the expression of a neuronal gene, the Nav1.7 sodium channel, concomitantly upregulated in human CaP, in an isoform-specific manner. It is concluded that targeting Brn-3a could be a useful strategy for controlling the expression of multiple genes that promote CaP.
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