Fig. 3.

TRIM3 correlates with the ER alpha protein level and mRNA levels of its target genes in breast cancer samples. a and b Publicly available data show that TRIM3 was positively correlated with the ER alpha target genes GREB1 and TFF1 (https://www.cbioportal.org). c Example tumor cases showing that TRIM3 protein expression is positively correlated with ER alpha and PR protein expression in IHC analysis. d Statistical analysis of the correlation of TRIM3 with ER alpha expression in 123 human breast tumor samples. e TRIM3 and ER alpha protein levels were determined by western blotting. Actin was used as internal control. f PS2, GREB1, and PKIB mRNA levels were determined by RT–PCR after treatment with TRIM3 siRNA in MCF-7 cells. ***P < 0.001 for target gene expression comparison. g–i MCF-7 cells in charcoal-stripped FBS and phenol red-free DMEM were transfected with siTRIM3 or siControl. After 48 h, cells were treated with either ethanol or 10 nM estradiol for 6 h. TRIM3 and ER alpha protein levels were determined by western blot analysis. Actin was used as internal control (g). PS2, GREB1, and PKIB mRNA levels were determined by RT–PCR (h). Luciferase activity was measured after transfection (i). Data are presented as ± SD values. ***P < 0.001 (Student’s t test)