In this study, we demonstrated that important roles sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP-2) play in osteoclast formation a function, and in breast cancer metastasis.
SREBP-2 was similarly under the transcriptional control of CREB and its induction regulates the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), key degradative enzymes involved in bone metastases by breast cancer cells.
They can act as either tumor suppressors or oncogenes, and changes in their levels are associated with tumor initiation, progression and metastasis. miR-33a is an intronic miRNA embedded within SREBF2 that has been reported to have tumor suppressive properties in some cancers but has not been examined in prostate cancer.