Leukemia-regulating lncRNAs

Summary

Among childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common. ALL is a heterogeneous disease comprised of multiple subtypes with distinct somatic genetic alterations, with different outcomes for the patients. Additionally, the genetic basis of ALL susceptibility has been supported by its association with certain genetical disorders and, more recently, by several genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Even in GWAS, most studies focused on coding portion of human genome, being the analysis of 98% of the genome (which does not code proteins) under-explored, including the analysis regions that transcribe long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). LncRNAs are RNA transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides with important regulatory role in several signaling pathways, including cancer processes. These molecules are closely related to genomic instability, which is characterized as one of the central hallmarks of tumor development. Besides that, these molecules have been received great attention and represent novel candidates with diagnostic, classification, prognosis, and treatment response potential markers. Genetic polymorphism in lncRNA regions have been also associated to susceptibility and protection in cancer types, but studies focused in SNP-lncRNAs in ALL are not available. Furthermore, the impact of genomic variations on these molecules in the context of genomic instability is still little explored.

Academic production 📚

📄 Campanário, M.A.S., Beal, A.L.B., Zabot, W.R., Lima, C.G.A., Pontamianos, L., Pianovski, M.A.D., Gradia, D.F., Mathias, C., Oliveira, J.C. Selection of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia-associated SNPs from public GWAS databases reveal potential lncRNA regions for Brazilian population association studies. In: Anais da VIIª Reunião Brasileira de Citogenética e Citogenômica. Curitiba (2023).