Differential regulation of genes in response to exogenous ganglioside GM2 treatment in Cancer cells.
Gangliosides have been implicated in various diseases including but not limited to cancer. Overexpression of one of these gangliosides, namely ganglioside GM2 has been associated with several cancers like Glioblastoma (GBM), Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) and several others. Despite the definite role of GM2 in tumor-induced host immune suppression has been extensively studied, not much was known regarding its involvement in the alteration of tumor cell behaviour. Our laboratory established that ganglioside GM2 plays a pivotal role in promoting migration and invasion of cancer cells and in inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) primarily by acquiring anoikis resistance and anchorage independence. Our initial data indicates that GM2's pro-tumorigenic function may be elaborated through modulation of a diverse, yet distinct signaling pathways. To address this, we undertook this task of mapping the differential regulation of genes in response to exogenous GM2 treatment in HeLa cells. Overall design: RNA-seq profiling of GM2 treated (1hour treatment in serum starved condition) and non treated condition (only serum starved condition) in HeLa wild type cells.