Abstract A44: The role of ultraconserved noncoding RNAs in oncogenic transformation

Ultra conserved regions are stretches of DNA in the genome of >200bp that are 100% conserved between human, mouse and rat. Their overall conservation in a wide variety of vertebrates is often >95%. There are ~ 500 such regions in the human genome. Their function and the reason for their extreme sequence conservation are unknown. A majority of these ultraconserved genes (UCG) is expressed as non-coding RNAs, and many of the UCGs are differentially expressed in tumors and locate to cancer-associated regions in the genome. Some UCGs show small sequence variants between cancer patients and control cohorts, further suggesting that they may be causally involved in tumorigenesis. We have employed a genetically defined model of carcinogenesis to screen a limited set of cancer-associated UCGs and found that expression of two of these UCGs can directly affect the p16-pRb tumor suppressor pathway and contribute to the transformation of primary human cells. Citation Format: Hung Thanh Nguyen, Lifang Chan, Mathijs Voorhoeve. The role of ultraconserved noncoding RNAs in oncogenic transformation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Third AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research; Sep 18-22, 2013; National Harbor, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(19 Suppl):Abstract nr A44.