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Abstract Details
Recoding RNA editing of AZIN1 predisposes to hepatocellular carcinoma
Chen L, Li Y, Lin CH, Chan TH, Chow RK, Song Y, Liu M, Yuan YF, Fu L, Kong KL, Qi L, Li Y, Zhang N, Tong AH, Kwong DL, Man K, Lo CM, Lok S, Tenen DG, Guan XY. Nat Med. 2013 Jan 6. doi: 10.1038/nm.3043. [Epub ahead of print]
Source
1] Department of Clinical Oncology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. [2] Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore. [3] State Key Laboratory of Liver Research, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. [4].
Abstract
A better understanding of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) pathogenesis at the molecular level will facilitate the discovery of tumor-initiating events. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that adenosine-to-inosine (A→I) RNA editing of AZIN1 (encoding antizyme inhibitor 1) is increased in HCC specimens. A→I editing of AZIN1 transcripts, specifically regulated by ADAR1 (encoding adenosine deaminase acting on RNA-1), results in a serine-to-glycine substitution at residue 367 of AZIN1, located in β-strand 15 (β15) and predicted to cause a conformational change, induced a cytoplasmic-to-nuclear translocation and conferred gain-of-function phenotypes that were manifested by augmented tumor-initiating potential and more aggressive behavior. Compared with wild-type AZIN1 protein, the edited form has a stronger affinity to antizyme, and the resultant higher AZIN1 protein stability promotes cell proliferation through the neutralization of antizyme-mediated degradation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and cyclin D1 (CCND1). Collectively, A→I RNA editing of AZIN1 may be a potential driver in the pathogenesis of human cancers, particularly HCC.