Publication by Gurri et al.: NRF3 suppresses squamous carcinogenesis, involving the unfolded protein response regulator HSPA5.

Gurri et al. found that the NRF3 protein is downregulated or even absent in invasively growing cancer cells of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) patients. NRF3-deficient cancer cells showed enhanced malignancy due to the upregulation of the unfolded protein response regulator HSPA5, which was found as potential NRF3 interactor. Pharmacological inhibition or knock-down of HSPA5 rescued the malignant features of NRF3-deficient cells, suggesting HSPA5 as promising target for the treatment of NMSC.