Human snoRNA-93 is processed into a microRNA-like RNA that promotes breast cancer cell invasion

Abstract

RNA: Small nucleolar-derived RNA contributes to tumor invasiveness A short microRNA-like fragment excised from a small nucleolar RNA (called a snoRNA-derived RNA or sdRNA) contributes to the invasiveness of breast cancer cells. Glen Borchert from the University of South Alabama, USA, and colleagues compared the expression of sdRNAs between a primary breast cancer cell line and a metastatic one. They identified 13 sdRNAs with markedly different abundances. Blocking the sdRNA with the biggest expression differential sdRNA-93-decreased cellular invasion, whereas increasing its abundance enhanced tumor cell invasiveness. Looking at human tissues, sdRNA-93 was routinely expressed in biopsies taken from patients with the luminal HER2-positive form of breast cancer, less often in other tumor types and almost never in healthy breast samples. Hinting at its function, the researchers showed that sdRNA-93 targets and regulates a gene contributing to specific molecular subtypes of breast cancer.