Identifying the role of lncRNAs in CRPC

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play major roles in the development of cancer, as many of them are implicated in cell growth and tumor-suppressing mechanisms. We have recently used RNA-seq to identify several lncRNAs that are significantly expressed at higher levels in CRPC compared to wild-type controls. The function of these lncRNAs in prostate cancer is not well understood, yet we have found that their expression levels are over 10 times higher than in normal cells. We hypothesize that the lncRNA LOC730101 might contribute to the growth of CRPC without hormones. Therefore, the goal of our research is to determine the function of these lncRNAs in CRPC by knocking down their expression in prostate cancer cells and observing changes in gene expression levels. We will do this by designing siRNAs to perform the knockdown, RT-qPCR to verify that knockdown worked, and then perform a luciferase assay or direct cell count in order to track any changes in cell growth and any possible androgen receptor (AR) related gene expression. Not only can these have a function in prostate cancer cells, but many lncRNAs tend to have overlapping functions in different kinds of cancer. Thus, our findings may have greater implications for the scientific community beyond the scope of our lab’s prostate cancer research. Uncovering the function of novel lncRNAs has the potential to bring forth valuable information on new biological pathways. Understanding how they work may help us better understand the mechanisms through which cancer cells proliferate.