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Alves-Vale C, Capela AM, Tavares-Marcos C, Domingues-Silva B, Pereira B, Santos F, Gomes CP, Espadas G, Vitorino R, Sabidó E, Borralho P, Nóbrega-Pereira S, Bernardes de Jesus B. Expression of NORAD correlates with breast cancer aggressiveness and protects breast cancer cells from chemotherapy. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids 2023; 33:910-924. [PMID: 37680988 PMCID: PMC10480464 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2023.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
The recently discovered human lncRNA NORAD is induced after DNA damage in a p53-dependent manner. It plays a critical role in the maintenance of genomic stability through interaction with Pumilio proteins, limiting the repression of their target mRNAs. Therefore, NORAD inactivation causes chromosomal instability and aneuploidy, which contributes to the accumulation of genetic abnormalities and tumorigenesis. NORAD has been detected in several types of cancer, including breast cancer, which is the most frequently diagnosed and the second-leading cause of cancer death in women. In the present study, we confirmed upregulated NORAD expression levels in a set of human epithelial breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-436, and MDA-MB-468), which belong to the most aggressive subtypes (triple-negative breast cancer). These results are in line with previous data showing that high NORAD expression levels in basal-like tumors were associated with poor prognosis. Here, we demonstrate that NORAD downregulation sensitizes triple-negative breast cancer cells to chemotherapy, through a potential accumulation of genomic aberrations and an impaired capacity to signal DNA damage. These results show that NORAD may represent an unexploited neoadjuvant therapeutic target for chemotherapy-unresponsive breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catarina Alves-Vale
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
- Hospital CUF Descobertas, CUF Oncologia, 1998-018 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ana Maria Capela
- Department of Medical Sciences and Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Carlota Tavares-Marcos
- Department of Medical Sciences and Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Beatriz Domingues-Silva
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Bruno Pereira
- i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- IPATIMUP – Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Francisco Santos
- Department of Medical Sciences and Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Carla Pereira Gomes
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Guadalupe Espadas
- Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rui Vitorino
- Department of Medical Sciences and Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Eduard Sabidó
- Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Paula Borralho
- Hospital CUF Descobertas, CUF Oncologia, 1998-018 Lisbon, Portugal
- Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Sandrina Nóbrega-Pereira
- Department of Medical Sciences and Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Bruno Bernardes de Jesus
- Department of Medical Sciences and Institute of Biomedicine – iBiMED, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
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Abstract
The human FANCM ATPase/translocase is involved in various cellular pathways including DNA damage repair, replication fork remodeling and R-loop resolution. Recently, reports from three independent laboratories have disclosed a previously unappreciated role for FANCM in telomerase-negative human cancer cells that maintain their telomeres through the Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) pathway. In ALT cells, FANCM limits telomeric replication stress and damage, and, in turn, ALT activity by suppressing accumulation of telomeric R-loops and by regulating the action of the BLM helicase. As a consequence, FANCM inactivation leads to exaggerated ALT activity and ultimately cell death. The studies reviewed here not only unveil a novel function for human FANCM, but also point to this enzyme as a promising target for anti-ALT cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Domingues-Silva
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM), Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Bruno Silva
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM), Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Claus M Azzalin
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM), Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
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Gomes CP, Nóbrega-Pereira S, Domingues-Silva B, Rebelo K, Alves-Vale C, Marinho SP, Carvalho T, Dias S, Bernardes de Jesus B. An antisense transcript mediates MALAT1 response in human breast cancer. BMC Cancer 2019; 19:771. [PMID: 31382922 PMCID: PMC6683341 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-019-5962-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 07/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent a substantial portion of the human transcriptome. LncRNAs present a very stringent cell-type/tissue specificity being potential candidates for therapeutical applications during aging and disease. As example, targeting of MALAT1, a highly conserved lncRNA originally identified in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, has shown promising results in cancer regression. Nevertheless, the regulation and specificity of MALAT1 have not been directly addressed. Interestingly, MALAT1 locus is spanned by an antisense transcript named TALAM1. METHODS Here using a collection of breast cancer cells and in vitro and in vivo migration assays we characterized the dynamics of expression and demonstrated that TALAM1 regulates and synergizes with MALAT1 during tumorigenesis. RESULTS Down-regulation of TALAM1 was shown to greatly impact on the capacity of breast cancer cells to migrate in vitro or to populate the lungs of immunocompromised mice. Additionally, we demonstrated that TALAM1 cooperates with MALAT1 in the regulation of the properties guiding breast cancer aggressiveness and malignancy. CONCLUSIONS By characterizing this sense/anti-sense pair we uncovered the complexity of MALAT1 locus regulation, describing new potential candidates for cancer targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Pereira Gomes
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sandrina Nóbrega-Pereira
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal.,Department of Medical Sciences and Institute of Biomedicine - iBiMED, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Beatriz Domingues-Silva
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Kenny Rebelo
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Catarina Alves-Vale
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sérgio Pires Marinho
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Tânia Carvalho
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sérgio Dias
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Bruno Bernardes de Jesus
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisbon, Portugal. .,Department of Medical Sciences and Institute of Biomedicine - iBiMED, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
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