Effect of Small Nucleolar RNA H/ACA Box 64 (SNORA64) on Apoptosis Regulator Genes in Pancreatic Cancer in Vitro

Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis and is highly aggressive and deadly. Most pancreatic cancer diagnoses are adenocarcinomas, which account for more than 90 % of all cases. Developing effective therapeutic strategies requires an understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with pancreatic cancer progression. Small nucleolar RNA H/ACA Box 64 (SNORA64) was presented as a predictive marker for pancreatic cancer stages in our previous study. SNORA64 showed a gradual loss of its expression throughout the carcinogenesis process, and it inhibited metastasis by interfering with epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). In this study, we investigated the role of SNORA64 on an intrinsic apoptotic pathway in pancreatic cancers by using human pancreatic cell line derived from adenocarcinoma PK-8 with SNORA64 knockdown and the scramble to compare with.

QPCR techniques used to measure the gene expression level of apoptosis related genes and cell viability assay using trypan blue exclusion are implanted in this study as investigational methods.

Pk-8 SNORA64 knockdown shows a significant low expression of tumor suppressor P53 in contrast to the scramble control cell line. Pk-8 SNORA64 knockdown shows significantly high expression of anti-apoptotic genes B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2 (BCl2) and B-cell lymphoma-extra-large (BCL-Xl) in contrast to the scramble control cell line. Conversely, the pro-apoptotic genes BH3 interacting domain death agonist (BID), BCL2 Associated X (BAX), and BCL2 homologous antagonist/killer (BAK) show significantly low expression compared to the scramble control. However, there is no change in the expression of BAD and BIM in Pk-8 with SNORA64 knockdown compared to the scrambled control cell line. Furthermore, the Pk-8 with SNORA64 knockdown shows a significant high proliferation rate and viability percentage compared to the scramble control cell line.

The downregulation of SNORA64 affects apoptosis pathways by manipulating pro- and anti-apoptotic gene regulators. The SNORA64 interactions with apoptotic inhibitor molecules and downregulation of pro-apoptotic molecules significantly sustain cellular viability. Therefore; SNORA64 may serve as a sensitizer to apoptosis-inducing therapies.