Identification of the SRC pyrimidine-binding protein (SPy) as hnRNP K: implications in the regulation of SRC1A transcription.

The human SRC gene encodes pp60(c-src), a non-receptor tyrosine kinase involved in numerous signaling pathways. Activation or overexpression of c-Src has also been linked to a number of important human cancers. Transcription of the SRC gene is complex and regulated by two closely linked but highly dissimilar promoters, each associated with its own distinct non-coding exon.

The ubiquitous and tissue specific promoters of the human SRC gene are repressed by inhibitors of histone deacetylases.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors have generated keen interest as potential chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents due to their ability to induce cell cycle arrest, differentiation, and apoptosis in a diverse group of cancer derived cell lines. Activation of the 60 kDa non-receptor tyrosine kinase, c-Src, has been a consistent finding in many tumors and tumor derived cell lines, and has been implicated in these same cellular processes. We have shown that the histone deacetylase inhibitors, sodium butyrate and Trichostatin A, repressed c-Src mRNA and protein expression in a dose-dependent manner in cell lines derived from cancers of the colon, breast and liver.