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Updated: Jul 9, 2026
08:35
Inducible and Reversible Dominant-negative (DN) Protein Inhibition
Published on: January 7, 2019
RIN1 is a breast tumor suppressor gene
Marc Milstein1, Chelsea K Mooser, Hailiang Hu
1Department of Biological Chemistry, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Cancer Research
|December 20, 2007
Summary
The RIN1 gene is silenced in breast cancer, acting as a tumor suppressor. Restoring RIN1 expression inhibits tumor growth and invasion, suggesting its loss contributes to breast cancer progression.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Breast cancer progression is linked to changes in gene expression.
- The RIN1 gene, a RAS effector, influences epithelial cell characteristics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of RIN1 in breast cancer.
- To identify mechanisms of RIN1 silencing and its functional consequences.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of RIN1 expression in breast tumor cell lines and normal mammary epithelial cells.
- Analysis of gene silencing mechanisms including transcription repressor SNAI1 (Snail) and DNA methylation.
- Assessment of RIN1 re-expression effects on anchorage-independent growth and tumor development in a mouse model.
- Investigation of RIN1's role in regulating tumor cell invasion via ABL kinase signaling.
Main Results:
- RIN1 is silenced in breast tumor cell lines and reduced in human breast tumor cells.
- SNAI1 overexpression and DNA methylation were identified as RIN1 silencing mechanisms.
- RIN1 re-expression inhibited anchorage-independent growth and suppressed tumor initiation and progression in vivo.
- RIN1 negatively regulates tumor cell invasive growth, dependent on its ABL kinase-signaling function.
Conclusions:
- RIN1 functions as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer.
- Silencing of RIN1, through epigenetic or transcriptional mechanisms, promotes breast cancer progression and invasion.
- Restoring RIN1 expression represents a potential therapeutic strategy for breast cancer.
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