A Long Stress-Responsive Non-Coding Transcript (NiT 5) and Its Role in the Development of Breast Cancer

We received funding from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Program to study a long stress-responsive non-coding transcript which is called LSINCT5. There were three Specific Aims to our research proposal whose overall goal was to better understand the structure and function of this long stress-responsive non-coding transcript which was found to be frequently over-expressed in breast cancer as compared to matched normal breast epithelial tissue. Our three Specific Aims were to (1) Characterize the LSINCT5 transcript to determine its full length, which RNA polymerase transcribes it, and its sub-cellular localization: (2) To analyze the phenotype effect of modulating the expression of LSINCT5 in a normal breast epithelial cell line and in breast cancer cell lines that over-express it; and (3) To determine what other genes and non-coding transcripts have altered expression in direct response to altering the expression of LSINCT5. In this annual progress report we summarize our work on the analysis of LSINCT5, and we have completed most of the proposed work that we originally outlined. However, the most important goal is to determine what is the function of LSINCT5 in normal cells and how its over-expression in breast cancers contributes to breast cancer development. We have, therefore, initiated experiments aimed at determining what are the genes and non-coding transcripts that interact with LSINCT5 so that we can unravel the precise cellular functions of this interesting non-coding transcript.
The original document contains color images.