Identification of AK4 and RHOC as novel oncogenes addicted by adult T-cell leukemia
Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is a highly aggressive T-cell malignancy characterized by human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection. ATL has a very poor prognosis and lacks satisfactory treatments; therefore, it is critical to identify novel targets in ATL cells in order to develop effective targeted therapeutics. Here we report the identification of two novel oncogenes, AK4 and RHOC, as target genes of miR-455-3p, a tumor suppressive microRNA in ATL patients. Importantly, AK4 and RHOC are highly expressed in ATL and exhibit oncogenic potentials in vitro and in vivo. By knocking down the AK4 and RHOC genes in MT-4 cells ( htlv-1 positive cells ), we sought to find which signaling pathways in ATL cells were affected by AK4 or RHOC.