Nuclear Receptors Conference Cancun, Mexico 27 February - 2 March, 2018

Description:
Nuclear Receptors are, physiologically and pharmacologically, a critical superfamily of transcription factors. They drive key processes at every stage from development and reproduction to ageing and cancer. They are critical determinants of everyday health via their roles in metabolism and circadian rhythms. Nuclear receptors allow external factors to influence cellular pathways and the fact that many bind and are activated by small molecules means they represent highly druggable targets; currently, 13% of FDA-approved drugs target nuclear receptors.

This meeting will address the new roles and novel crosstalk mechanisms that are emerging for many of the 48 human nuclear receptors, in health and disease. For example, it has long been known that the estrogen receptor drives progression of breast cancer, and patients with estrogen receptor-positive disease are treated using antiestrogens or aromatase inhibitors to inhibit estrogen signalling. Now however, it is apparent that the androgen receptor can in some cases drive breast cancer progression and is a therapeutic target, resulting in clinical trials for androgen receptor-targeting therapies in advanced breast cancer. The androgen receptor, itself long the main therapeutic target in prostate cancer, is emerging as a key player in metabolic disease, while conversely other nuclear receptor including the glucocorticoid receptor and several orphan nuclear receptors are implicated in prostate cancer progression.