title: 7SK small nuclear RNA inhibits cancer cell proliferation through apoptosis induction.
abstract: 7SK small nuclear RNA (snRNA) is a 331-333-bp non-coding RNA, which recruits HEXIM 1/2 protein to inhibit positive elongation factor b (P-TEFb) activity. P-TEFb is an essential factor in alleviating promoter-proximal paused RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and initiating the productive elongation phase of gene transcription. Without this protein, Pol II will remain in its hypophosphorylated state, and no transcription occurs. In this study, we inhibited P-TEFb activity by over-expressing 7SK snRNA in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T cancer cell line. This inhibition led to a significant decrease in cell viability, which can be due to the transcription inhibition. Moreover, 7SK snRNA over-expression promoted apoptosis in cancerous cells. Our results suggest 7SK snRNA as a potential endogenous anti-cancer agent, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that uses a long non-coding RNA's over-expression against cancer cell growth and proliferation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Farid
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Keramati
authors.forename: Ehsan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Seyedjafari
authors.forename: Parviz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fallah
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soleimani
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ghanbarian
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000235:genetics*; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D042925:Positive Transcriptional Elongation Factor B / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D011485:Protein Binding; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000235:genetics; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear; D042925:Positive Transcriptional Elongation Factor B