Human antigen R and drug resistance in tumors.

The human embryonic lethal abnormal visual protein, HuR, belongs to the Hu family of RNA-binding proteins. Over the past two decades, HuR has been extensively associated with multiple biological characteristics of tumors, including tumor development and progression, angiogenesis, invasion, migration and prognosis, since this protein regulates the stability of cancer-associated target mRNAs due to its posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms. A recent investigation of the multiple functions of HuR has provided emerging evidence of its role in drug resistance in various tumors. Herein, we demonstrate the roles of HuR proteins in the development of drug resistance, examine their involvement in various mechanisms, including apoptosis, the ABC transporter family, the cell cycle and the DNA damage response, and provide insight into ongoing studies for developing therapeutic strategies aimed at targeting this molecule in tumor cells.