Review

New insights into the functions and regulation of the transcriptional corepressors SMRT and N-CoR

Kristopher J Stanya^1,2 and Hung-Ying Kao¹

¹  Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University and the Research Institute of University Hospitals of Cleveland, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA

²  Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases, School of Public Health, Harvard University, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA

author email corresponding author email

Cell Division 2009, 4:7doi:10.1186/1747-1028-4-7

Published:	21 April 2009

Abstract

Corepressors are large proteins that facilitate transcriptional repression through recruitment of histone-modifying enzymes. Two major corepressors, SMRT (silencing mediator for retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors) and N-CoR (nuclear receptor corepressor), have been shown to mediate repression associated with nuclear receptors and a myriad of other transcription factors. This review will focus on recent studies on these proteins, including newly discovered physiological roles of the corepressors, their modes of regulation, their roles in antiestrogen-resistant breast cancer and their functions during the cell cycle.