SignalSilence^® Vitamin D3 Receptor siRNA I

Product Usage Information

Storage

Specificity / Sensitivity

Species Reactivity:

Human

Product Description

Background

Although originally identified based on their roles in calcium and bone homeostasis, the vitamin D3 receptor (VDR/NR1I1) and its ligand 1-α, 25-dihydroxycholecalciferol [1α, 25(OH)₂D₃] are now recognized to exert biological effects in almost every tissue of the human body. Targets for vitamin D signaling include the central nervous system, skin, immune system, endocrine glands, kidney, and colon. At the cellular level, vitamin D signaling affects proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis of both normal and transformed cells. Within the steroid receptor gene family, VDR belongs to the NR1I subfamily that also includes NR1I2/PXR and NR1I3/CAR. The human VDR gene is composed of 11 exons that encode six domains (A-F) of the full length VDR protein, which includes an N-terminal dual zinc finger DNA binding domain, a C-terminal ligand-binding activity domain, and an extensive unstructured region that links the two functional domains together (1). Upon 1α, 25(OH)₂D₃ binding to the hormone ligand-binding domain, VDR is stabilized by the phosphorylation of Ser51 in the DNA-binding domain by PKC (2), and Ser208 in the hinge region by casein kinase II (3). VDR associates with the retinoic acid receptor (RXR) through dimerization domains. The 1α, 25(OH)₂D₃-VDR-RXR complex binds to the vitamin D response elements (VDREs) in the promoters of target genes through the DNA-binding domain. Ligand-induced conformation changes in VDR results in the dissociation of the co-repressor, silencing-mediator for retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors (SMRT), and allows interaction of the VDR activation function (AF2) transactivation domain with transcriptional coactivators (1).
Studies have shown that variable VDR expression is associated with different forms or stages of cancer and likely results from tissue-type variation in 1α, 25(OH)₂D₃ signaling. In the case of colon cancer, research indicates that VDR expression is relatively higher in hyperplastic colon polyps and during early tumorigenesis but diminishes in later stage, poorly differentiated tumors. Multiple studies suggest that 1α, 25(OH)₂D₃ may be an attractive target for development as a therapeutic anticancer agent (4,5) .