Estrogen receptor (ER) is a transcription factor that drives the expression of a suite of genes involved in the proliferation of the most common type of breast cancer (ER+ breast cancer). Inhibiting this transcription factor in ER+ breast cancer is one of the most effective cancer treatments developed to date. In light of the success of this paradigm, we are working to identify transcription factors responsible for the proliferation of other types of breast cancer. We use an integrated genomic approach that includes measuring genome-wide gene expression, DNA methylation and transcription factor binding to predict which transcription factors could be driving gene expression signatures specific to metastatic breast cancer. We then use tissue culture experiments to determine how perturbing these candidate transcription factors influences gene expression and whether inhibiting these factors inhibits proliferation, migration or invasion.
