Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 19, 2026

Exploring Sequence Space to Identify Binding Sites for Regulatory RNA-Binding Proteins
11:34

Exploring Sequence Space to Identify Binding Sites for Regulatory RNA-Binding Proteins

Published on: August 9, 2019

Cancer cell growth suppression by a 62nt AU-rich RNA from C/EBPβ 3'UTR through competitive binding with HuR

Da-Quan Sun1, Ying Wang, Ding-Gan Liu

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
|August 28, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Short RNAs containing AU-rich elements can suppress cancer growth by binding to the HuR protein. This competitive binding may offer new avenues for developing targeted anti-cancer drugs.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Research
  • RNA Biology

Background:

  • AU-rich elements (AREs) are key mRNA motifs binding HuR, a protein that stabilizes and enhances translation.
  • HuR's role in carcinogenesis is established, but the function of AREs independent of mRNA is unclear.
  • Investigating independent ARE function could reveal novel cancer therapeutic targets.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if isolated AU-rich elements can affect cancer cell behavior.
  • To elucidate the mechanism by which such RNAs might impact cancer growth.
  • To explore the potential of ARE-containing RNAs as anti-cancer agents.

Main Methods:

  • Synthesized a 62-nucleotide RNA containing AU-rich elements from C/EBPβ 3'UTR.
  • Tested the RNA's effect on a human liver cancer cell line's growth.
  • Performed biochemical assays to assess HuR binding and competition with C/EBPβ mRNA.

Main Results:

  • The synthetic RNA significantly suppressed human liver cancer cell growth.
  • The RNA specifically bound to the HuR protein.
  • The RNA competed with C/EBPβ mRNA for HuR binding, indicating a mechanism of action.

Conclusions:

  • Independent AU-rich element-containing RNAs can suppress cancer cell growth.
  • Competitive binding of HuR by these RNAs is a likely mechanism for growth suppression.
  • This finding suggests a novel strategy for developing RNA-based anti-cancer therapeutics.

More Related Videos

Silencing of BRCA2 to Identify Novel BRCA2-regulated Biological Functions in Cultured Human Cells09:24

Silencing of BRCA2 to Identify Novel BRCA2-regulated Biological Functions in Cultured Human Cells

Published on: August 12, 2015

Dual CRISPR-Interference Strategy for Targeting Synthetic Lethal Interactions Between Non-Coding RNAs in Cancer Cells07:23

Dual CRISPR-Interference Strategy for Targeting Synthetic Lethal Interactions Between Non-Coding RNAs in Cancer Cells

Published on: May 30, 2025

Related Concept Videos

Abnormal Proliferation02:23

Abnormal Proliferation

Under normal conditions, most adult cells remain in a non-proliferative state unless stimulated by internal or external factors to replace lost cells. Abnormal cell proliferation is a condition in which the cell's growth exceeds and is uncoordinated with normal cells. In such situations, cell division persists in the same excessive manner even after cessation of the stimuli, leading to persistent tumors. The tumor arises from the damaged cells that replicate to pass the damage to the daughter...
Negative Regulator Molecules01:23

Negative Regulator Molecules

Positive regulators allow a cell to advance through cell cycle checkpoints. Negative regulators have an equally important role as they terminate a cell’s progression through the cell cycle—or pause it—until the cell meets specific criteria.
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
The Retinoblastoma Gene01:20

The Retinoblastoma Gene

Tumor suppressor genes are normal genes that can slow down cell division, repair DNA mistakes, or program the cells for apoptosis in case of irreparable damage. Hence, they play an essential role in preventing the proliferation of damaged cells.
The first-ever tumor suppressor gene called Rb was identified in retinoblastoma - a rare eye tumor in children. In inherited forms of the disease, a child inherits one defective copy of the Rb gene, which predisposes them to retinoblastoma. However,...
Experimental RNAi02:15

Experimental RNAi

RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular mechanism that inhibits gene expression by suppressing its transcription or activating the RNA degradation process. The mechanism was discovered by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello in 1998 in plants. Today, it is observed in almost all eukaryotes, including protozoa, flies, nematodes, insects, parasites, and mammals. This precise cellular mechanism of gene silencing has been developed into a technique that provides an efficient way to identify and determine the...