DISCOVERY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A CANCER STEM CELL-ENRICHED LONG NON-CODING RNA IN TRIPLE-NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients face poor prognoses, possibly due to the presence of highly tumorigenic cancer stem cells (CSCs) within their tumors. The search for possible CSC targets is limited, but may be aided by identification of novel unstudied factors that regulate stemness, such as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are often highly overexpressed in cancer making them attractive therapeutic targets. Here, we identify oncogenic LINC00284 as highly enriched in TNBC and CSCs, and for the first time, target this CSC-enriched lncRNA in vivo to slow tumor growth and kill CSC populations. We also functionally interrogate LINC00284 to identify its yet unknown mechanism of action in cancer, revealing a complex mechanism involved in gene expression regulation through interactions with multifunctional nuclear protein SND1.