Nuclear receptor coregulators and human disease

Nuclear receptor (NR) coregulators (coactivators and corepressors) are essential elements in regulating nuclear receptor-mediated transcription. In a little more than a decade since their discovery, these proteins have been studied mechanistically and reveal that the regulation of transcription is a highly controlled and complex process. Because of their central role in regulating NR-mediated transcription and in coordinating intercompartmental metabolic processes, disruptions in coregulator biology can lead to pathological states. To date, the extent to which they are involved in human disease has not been widely appreciated. In a complete literature survey, we have identified nearly 300 distinct coregulators, revealing that a great variety of enzymatic and regulatory capabilities exist for NRs to regulate transcription and other cellular events. Here, we substantiate that coregulators are broadly implicated in human pathological states and will be of growing future interest in clinical medicine.