TUC338

TUC338 (transcribed ultra-conserved region 338) is an ultra-conserved element which is transcribed to give a non-coding RNA.^[1][2] The TUC338 gene was first identified as uc.338, along with 480 other ultra-conserved elements in the human genome.^[3] Expression of this RNA gene has been found to dramatically increase in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells.^[4]

TUC338
Identifiers
Symbol	TUC338
Other data
RNA type	Gene
Domain(s)	Vertebrata
Locus	Chr. 12 q
PDB structures	PDBe

The TUC338 RNA gene is 590 base-pairs long, and partially overlaps the gene encoding Poly(rC)-binding protein 2 (PCBP2), a protein involved in mRNA processing.^[5] Despite this overlap, PCBP2 and TUC388 were found to be independently expressed.^[4]

TUC338 is predicted to function in cell growth, possibly at the interface between G1 phase and S phase, and could potentially present a therapeutic target to treat HCC cells.^[4] Experimental evidence shows knocking out TUC338 using siRNA reduced the growth rate of both mouse and human HCC cells.^[4]

References

1. Calin GA, Liu CG, Ferracin M, Hyslop T, Spizzo R, Sevignani C, Fabbri M, Cimmino A, Lee EJ, Wojcik SE, Shimizu M, Tili E, Rossi S, Taccioli C, Pichiorri F, Liu X, Zupo S, Herlea V, Gramantieri L, Lanza G, Alder H, Rassenti L, Volinia S, Schmittgen TD, Kipps TJ, Negrini M, Croce CM (September 2007). "Ultraconserved regions encoding ncRNAs are altered in human leukemias and carcinomas". Cancer Cell. 12 (3): 215–229. doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2007.07.027. PMID 17785203.
2. Bejerano G, Lowe CB, Ahituv N, King B, Siepel A, Salama SR, Rubin EM, Kent WJ, Haussler D (May 2006). "A distal enhancer and an ultraconserved exon are derived from a novel retroposon". Nature. 441 (7089): 87–90. Bibcode:2006Natur.441...87B. doi:10.1038/nature04696. PMID 16625209. S2CID 4387930.
3. Bejerano G, Pheasant M, Makunin I, Stephen S, Kent WJ, Mattick JS, Haussler D (May 2004). "Ultraconserved elements in the human genome". Science. 304 (5675): 1321–1325. Bibcode:2004Sci...304.1321B. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.380.9305. doi:10.1126/science.1098119. PMID 15131266. S2CID 2790337.
4. Braconi C, Valeri N, Kogure T, Gasparini P, Huang N, Nuovo GJ, Terracciano L, Croce CM, Patel T (January 2011). "Expression and functional role of a transcribed noncoding RNA with an ultraconserved element in hepatocellular carcinoma". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 (2): 786–791. Bibcode:2011PNAS..108..786B. doi:10.1073/pnas.1011098108. PMC 3021052. PMID 21187392.
5. Czyzyk-Krzeska MF, Bendixen AC (March 1999). "Identification of the poly(C) binding protein in the complex associated with the 3′ untranslated region of erythropoietin messenger RNA". Blood. 93 (6): 2111–2120. doi:10.1182/blood.V93.6.2111.406k24_2111_2120. PMID 10068686.

External links

• Page for TUC338 at Rfam

Further reading

• Yam JW, Wong CM, Ng IO (2010-01-01). "Molecular and functional genetics of hepatocellular carcinoma". Frontiers in Bioscience. 2 (1): 117–134. doi:10.2741/s51. PMID 20036934.