I. Hepatocarcinogenesis by the Steroid Hormone Dehydroepiandrosterone

The significance of steroid and peptide hormones for tumour initiation and progression in a number of organs and tissues of various species including humans has been demonstrated by numerous experimental and epidemiological studies. More recently different hormone-stimulated signal transduction pathways have been partly unravelled and their components have been identified and characterised. There is now increasing evidence of stimulatory or inhibitory interaction of different signalling pathways. The research group ”Hormones and Signal Transduction” , which was established in October 1999, focuses their interest to the study of the mechanisms of tumour induction and progression by steroid hormones in liver and breast epithelial cells as well as to hormone-controlled gene expression and the interaction of steroids with components of other cellular signal transduction pathways. I. Hepatocarcinogenesis by the Steroid Hormone Dehydroepiandrosterone