Functional Analysis of a novel lncRNA in Breast Cancer

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) make up most of the human transcriptome and have a role in gene regulation. Some long-ncRNAs (lncRNAs) can act as decoys or sponges for specific regulatory factors limiting their availability in the cell. Some examples of these regulatory factors are micro-RNAs (miRNAs) which act as negative regulators of mRNA. Cancer cells can specifically express decoys that sustain their cancerous state. In this study, we conduct a functional analysis of an unannotated RNA, lncRNA1, that is expressed specifically in breast cancer cells as opposed to non-cancerous breast cells. We hypothesize that this RNA is a lncRNA that acts as a miRNA decoy. Our findings present differential expression of the unannotated RNA in different breast cancer cell lines, as well as a potential miRNA, mir-570-3p, that could be sequestered and inactivated by lncRNA1. Our findings also suggest the non-coding nature of lncRNA1 through Open Reading Frame (ORF) analysis and present predictions of lncRNA1 secondary structure.