presents, “The role of noncoding RNAs in cancer: shedding light on the transcriptomic dark matter”

Hosted by: Dr. Shamim Mollah
HYBRID
Zoom attendee webinar link:https://wustl-hipaa.zoom.us/j/94367220300
In-person:  Couch Building, 6001B

Seminar abstract: Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) direct a remarkable number of diverse functions in development and disease through their regulation of transcription, RNA processing, and translation. Leading the charge in the RNA revolution is a class of ncRNAs that are synthesized at active enhancers, called enhancer RNAs (eRNAs). While eRNAs have become a hallmark of active enhancers, it remains to be resolved whether enhancer transcription, eRNAs themselves, or both are important for enhancer activity and gene regulation. Through our efforts to link the cancer-promoting effects of inflammation to the epigenetic and transcriptional plasticity imparted by mutant forms of the tumor suppressor p53, we discovered mutp53-dependent production of eRNAs in breast and colon cancers. I will discuss our (i) new insights into the biogenesis of eRNAs and their potential utility as diagnostic or prognostic markers, (ii) functional screens to identify eRNA binding partners (eRBPs) implicated in cancer and our identification of RNA targets of human RBPs at scale, and (iii) new mechanisms underlying the roles that eRNAs play in regulating gene chromatin structure and function