Overexpression of an ectopic H19 gene enhances the tumorigenic properties of breast cancer cells.
The maternally expressed H19 gene is transcribed as an untranslated RNA that serves as a riboregulator. We have previously reported that this transcript accumulates in epithelial cells in approximately 10% of breast cancers. To gain further insight on how the overexpression of the H19 gene affects the phenotype of human breast epithelial cells, we investigated the oncogenic potential of RNA that was abundantly expressed from MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells stably transfected with the genomic sequence of the human H19 gene. The amount of H19 RNA did not affect cell proliferation capacity, timing of cell cycle phases or anchorage-dependent ability of H19-transfected clones in vitro. But in anchorage-independent growth assays the H19-recombined cells formed more and larger colonies in soft-agar versus control cells. To explore this phenotypic change, we analysed tumour development after subcutaneous injection of H19-recombined cells into scid mice. Results showed that H19 overexpression promotes tumour progression. These data support the hypothesis that an overload of H19 transcript is associated with cells exhibiting higher tumorigenic phenotypes and therefore we conclude that the H19 gene has oncogenic properties in breast epithelial cells.
Lottin
Séverine
S
Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement, UPRES-EA 1033, SN3, USTL, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.
Adriaenssens
Eric
E
Dupressoir
Thierry
T
Berteaux
Nathalie
N
Montpellier
Claire
C
Coll
Jean
J
Dugimont
Thierry
T
Curgy
Jean Jacques
JJ
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D010641:Phenotype; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D014162:Transfection; D014410:Tumor Stem Cell Assay
C094335:H19 long non-coding RNA; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding; D022661:RNA, Untranslated; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins