This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. It is well described that members of the GATA family of zinc finger transcription factors regulate critical steps of cellular differentiation during vertebrate development. For example, the GATA-5 gene is expressed within the atrial and ventricular chambers, becomes restricted to the atrial endocardium and is subsequently not expressed in the heart during late fetal and postnatal development. Moreover, coincident with the earliest steps in lung development, only the GATA-5 gene is expressed within the pulmonary mesenchyme. Finally, the GATA-5 gene is expressed in tissue-restricted subsets of smooth muscle cells including bronchial cells. It is less known that the GATA family of transcription factors may be expressed in many types of cancer tissues. GATA 4,5,or 6 expression or loss of expression is described with with several different cancers. For example, GATA-4 and GATA-5 transcription factor genes and potential downstream antitumor target genes are epigenetically silenced in colorectal and gastric cancer. GATA-3 expression is described in hormone responsive breast cancer. The student researcher will stain histological slides of several human cancer tissue types for GATA factors 3,4,5, and 6. Once expression has been found, pathological review will be done to determine the significance of any positive or negative results.
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