Abstract 1533: Long non-coding RNA control of cancer cell growth

Abstract Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in controlling regulatory networks critical for gene expression, cellular growth, and development. Altered expression of lncRNAs are associated with tumor progression in multiple types of human cancers, but the mechanisms by which lncRNAs may control growth and proliferation in cancer cells remain unknown in most cases. Development of interventions targeting non-coding RNA regulation of cell growth would open new avenues for cancer treatment. To identify growth regulatory pathways controlled by non-coding RNAs, we used proteomics and genomics tools to study the effect of changes in lncRNA expression levels in human cancer cell lines. First, we identified five growth regulator lncRNAs based on data mining of CRISPR/Cas9 screens and high throughput sequencing studies from patient tumor and normal cells. These lncRNAs have been associated with progression and metastasis in breast, lung and colon cancers. We hypothesized that growth regulator lncRNAs play a role in cancer development by recruiting effector proteins to regulate gene expression. Next, we evaluated the cellular growth phenotype for each lncRNA in overexpression and knockdown strains using multiple established cancer cell lines. We analyzed cellular transcriptome changes after lncRNA perturbation using high-throughput RNA sequencing. Finally, RNA-protein interactions for each growth regulator lncRNA were identified using an RNA hybridization capture method paired with mass spectrometry that enables purification of direct and specific endogenous RNA-binding proteins. Using this combination of transcriptomics and proteomics data, we discovered that perturbation of growth regulator lncRNAs results in dysregulation of growth signaling pathways and increased expression of p53. We are currently identifying the sequence and structure determinants of RNA-protein complex formation to uncover the mechanisms of action of lncRNAs in controlling cancer cell growth. Citation Format: Tong Su, Bobby Kong, Calvin Huang, Jonathan Zhu, Colleen McHugh. Long non-coding RNA control of cancer cell growth [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1533.