Speaker：Housheng Hansen He, Ph.D.

                  Scientist

                  Princess Margaret Cancer Centre;

                  Assistant Professor

                  Department of Medical Biophysics

                  University of Toronto

Host：Dr.ZHANG Zhihua

Time：9:30-11:30 Aug 10

Location: First-floor, Conference Room, BIG, CAS

Abstract:

Genome-Wide Association (GWA) and whole-genome re-sequencing studies have identified thousands of germline risk variants and somatic mutations in cancer. Efforts to interpret these data have mainly been focused on protein coding genes, despite the fact that majority of these genetic alterations locate outside of coding gene exons. A recent curation of over seven thousand RNA-Seq data characterized more than 58,000 expressed long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in human genome, twice as large as the number of protein coding genes. Through integrative analysis of the lncRNA transcriptome with epigenetic and genetic variation data, we identified 60 candidate lncRNAs associated with genetic variations. Experimental validation showed that they could be regulated by risk SNPs and somatic mutations through both cis- and trans- actions. The function of two of these lncRNAs in prostate cancer development and progression has been characterized. Our data suggests that genetic variations in noncoding regions function largely through regulating lncRNA expression and these lncRNAs may serve as new biomarkers for personalized medicine.