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Updated: May 7, 2026

Co-immunoprecipitation Assay Using Endogenous Nuclear Proteins from Cells Cultured Under Hypoxic Conditions
Published on: August 2, 2018
HINCUTs in cancer: hypoxia-induced noncoding ultraconserved transcripts.
11] Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNAs, MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas, So Campus Research Building 3, 1881 East Road, Houston, TX 77030, USA [2] Chair of Genetics, Animal Biotechnology and Immunology, Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3 1230, Domzale, Slovenia.
Hypoxia, or low oxygen, influences long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) expression, including novel hypoxia-induced noncoding ultraconserved transcripts (HINCUTs). One HINCUT supports cancer cell growth in low oxygen, revealing a new regulatory network.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Research
- Genomics
Background:
- Hypoxia is a known feature of the tumor microenvironment.
- MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are linked to hypoxia, but effects on other noncoding transcripts are unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of oxygen deprivation on long noncoding transcripts, specifically transcribed-ultraconserved regions (T-UCRs).
- To identify and characterize hypoxia-modulated T-UCRs and their role in cancer.
Main Methods:
- Genome-wide expression profiling to identify hypoxia-responsive T-UCRs.
- Analysis of clinical colon cancer samples for T-UCR expression.
- Investigating the role of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) in T-UCR induction.
- Functional studies of a specific T-UCR (HINCUT-1) in cancer cell proliferation.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a functional link between oxygen deprivation and T-UCR modulation.
- Identified hypoxia-induced noncoding ultraconserved transcripts (HINCUTs), with several overexpressed in colon cancer.
- Showed HIF is partly responsible for HINCUT induction.
- HINCUT-1 supports cancer cell proliferation under hypoxia and influences protein O-GlcNAcylation.
Conclusions:
- Established a novel functional network linking hypoxia, noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), and protein-coding transcripts in cancer.
- HINCUTs represent a new class of hypoxia-responsive ncRNAs with potential roles in tumor formation.
- HINCUT-1 is a key player in hypoxic cancer cell adaptation and survival.
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