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Comparative Lesions Analysis Through a Targeted Sequencing Approach
Published on: November 5, 2019
Unannotated noncoding transcripts as a source of intratumor heterogeneity in malignant cell states
Xiaolan Zhou1,2, Limin Lin1, Yu Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, National Clinical Research Center for Aging and Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Human Phenome Institute, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Industrial Microorganisms, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
Researchers discovered thousands of unannotated transcripts linked to cancer cell diversity and treatment failure. Epigenetic activation of these transcripts may drive intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) in various cancers.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Genomics
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) drives cancer metastasis and treatment failure.
- Molecular mechanisms underlying ITH remain poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of unannotated transcripts in driving cancer heterogeneity.
- To characterize the expression and epigenetic landscape of novel transcripts.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 3' tag-based single-cell RNA-sequencing data from 12 cancer types.
- Integration of multi-omics data (epigenetics, bulk RNA-seq).
- Functional validation experiments in lung cancer cell lines.
Main Results:
- Identification of thousands of poly(A) site peaks associated with unannotated transcripts (UPTs).
- UPT expression correlates with diverse malignant cellular states and ITH.
- Epigenetic regulation of UPTs confirmed; two noncoding UPTs promote cancer cell proliferation and migration.
Conclusions:
- Epigenetic activation of unannotated noncoding transcripts is a potential mechanism contributing to transcriptomic ITH.
- UPTs represent a novel layer of complexity in cancer biology.
- Findings may offer new therapeutic targets for overcoming treatment resistance.
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