Long non-coding RNA and breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer represents 22 % of all cancer cases amongst the female population in Norway, which makes it by far the most common form of cancer in this group. It is a heterogeneous disease, and to guide use of adjuvant treatment, breast cancer patients are categorized into different subgroups based on biomarkers, which in turn enables specific target treatment options. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are previously unexplored transcripts from the mammalian genome, but are currently receiving increased attention, as it potentially can give rise to novel biomarkers and new targets for medical treatment amongst cancer patients in the future. Nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) is an lncRNA that proves to be involved in tumorgenesis, as induction of it leads to accelerated cellular proliferation, improved clonogenic survival and reduced apoptosis. High tumor NEAT1 expression also correlates with pore survival in patients with breast cancer.

I have worked with two different cell lines, HeLa cells which are human cervical epithelial cells, and SK-BR-3 cells from human adenocarcinoma in breasts. I have pre-treated them with two different drugs, Gefitinib and Trastuzumab, and stimulated them with epidermal growth factor (EGF). By RNA isolation and RT-qPCR I’ve detected the expression of NEAT1_2 relative to GADPH, which is a constitutively expressed housekeeping ncRNA. I’ve also done Western Blot to detect ERK- and phosphorylated ERK proteins, to verify that EGF succeeded in stimulating the cells though activation of the Ras-MAPK signalling pathway.