Integrated and Functional Genomics Analysis Validates the Relevance of the Nuclear Variant ErbB380kDa in Prostate Cancer Progression.

The EGF-family of tyrosine-kinase receptors activates cytoplasmic pathways involved in cell proliferation, migration and differentiation in response to specific extracellular ligands. Beside these canonical pathways, the nuclear localization of the ErbB receptors in primary tumours and cancer cell lines led to investigate their role as transcriptional regulators of cancer genes. The nuclear localization of ErbB3 has been reported in various cancer tissues and cell lines but the nuclear functions and the putative correlation with tumour progression and resistance to therapy remain unclear.