Tag Archives: University Ulm and the Institute of Molecular Biology

Epigenetic Upregulation of lncRNAs at 13q14.3 in Leukemia Is Linked to the In Cis Downregulation of a Gene Cluster That Targets NF-kB

Non-coding RNAs are much more common than previously thought. However, for the vast majority of non-coding RNAs, the cellular function remains enigmatic. The two long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) genes DLEU1 and DLEU2 map to a critical region at chromosomal band 13q14.3 that is recurrently deleted in solid tumors and hematopoietic malignancies like chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). While no point mutations have been found in the protein coding candidate genes at 13q14.3, they are deregulated in malignant cells, suggesting an epigenetic tumor suppressor mechanism.

Now, a team of researchers from the University Ulm and the Institute of Molecular Biology, Germany have characterized the epigenetic makeup of 13q14.3 in CLL cells and found histone modifications by chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP) that are associated with activated transcription and significant DNA-demethylation at the transcriptional start sites of DLEU1 and DLEU2 using 5 different semi-quantitative and quantitative methods (aPRIMES, BioCOBRA, MCIp, MassARRAY, and bisulfite sequencing). These epigenetic aberrations were correlated with transcriptional deregulation of the neighboring candidate tumor suppressor genes, suggesting a coregulation in cis of this gene cluster.

  • Garding A, Bhattacharya N, Claus R, Ruppel M, Tschuch C, Filarsky K, Idler I, Zucknick M, Caudron-Herger M, Oakes C, Fleig V, Keklikoglou I, Allegra D, Serra L, Thakurela S, Tiwari V, Weichenhan D, Benner A, Radlwimmer B, Zentgraf H, Wiemann S, Rippe K, Plass C, Döhner H, Lichter P, Stilgenbauer S, Mertens D. (2013) Epigenetic Upregulation of lncRNAs at 13q14.3 in Leukemia Is Linked to the In Cis Downregulation of a Gene Cluster That Targets NF-kB. PLoS Genet 9(4):e1003373. [article]

Incoming search terms:

  • non-coding RNA in CLL
  • Cis-regulation by lncRNA product
  • long non-coding RNA in CLL