Transcriptional control of the expression of MUC1

Abstract

MUC1 is a multifunctional cell surface glycoprotein that modulates cell adhesion, protects mucosa from infection and enzymatic attack, lubricates cell surfaces, participates in multiple signal-transduction pathways and is overexpressed by many tumors. MUC1 levels change dynamically in various cellular contexts. The primary mechanism for controlling MUC1 expression appears to be transcriptional through a complex combination of often overlapping regulatory motifs that control both tissue specificity and overall rate of transcription. This review will summarize the current knowledge of the factors known to control MUC1 transcriptional regulation, including cytokines, steroid hormones and the growth factors they stimulate, as well as suggest how this information may be exploited in the future to control MUC1 expression in specific biological contexts.

Keywords::

• cytokine
• inflammation
• MUC1
• PIASy
• progesterone receptor

Acknowledgements

We greatly appreciate the helpful discussions and critical comments of JoAnne Julian and Mary C Farach-Carson during the preparation of this manuscript. We also thank Sharron Kingston for her excellent secretarial assistance.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors were supported by NIH grant HD29963 (to DD Carson) and a University of Delaware Dissertation Fellowship (to N Dharmaraj). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.