Laboratory Investigation - Role of serum response factor in the pathogenesis of disease

Pathobiology in Focus

Laboratory Investigation (2010) 90, 1274–1284; doi:10.1038/labinvest.2010.104; published online 24 May 2010
Role of serum response factor in the pathogenesis of disease

Joseph M Miano1

1Department of Medicine, Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA

Correspondence: JM Miano, PhD, Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 211 Bailey Road, West Henrietta, NY 14586, USA. E-mail: j.m.miano@rochester.edu

Received 9 January 2010; Revised 11 March 2010; Accepted 11 March 2010; Published online 24 May 2010.

Abstract

Serum response factor (SRF) is a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor that binds to a DNA cis element known as the CArG box, which is found in the proximal regulatory regions of over 200 experimentally validated target genes. Genetic deletion of SRF is incompatible with life in a variety of animals from different phyla. In mice, loss of SRF throughout the early embryo results in gastrulation defects precluding analyses in individual organ systems. Genetic inactivation studies using conditional or inducible promoters directing the expression of the bacteriophage Cre recombinase have shown a vital role for SRF in such cellular processes as contractility, cell migration, synaptic activity, inflammation, and cell survival. A growing number of experimental and human diseases are associated with changes in SRF expression, suggesting that SRF has a role in the pathogenesis of disease. This review summarizes data from experimental model systems and human pathology where SRF expression is either deliberately or naturally altered.

Keywords:

CArG box; knockout; mouse; pathology; serum response factor

full-text:
Laboratory Investigation - Role of serum response factor in the pathogenesis of disease