Noncoding Rnas As Novel Pancreatic Cancer Targets
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NONCODING RNAS AS NOVEL PANCREATIC CANCER TARGETS by Amy Makler A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Charles E. Schmidt College of Science In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL August 2018 Copyright 2018 by Amy Makler ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank Dr. Narayanan for his continuous support, constant encouragement, and his gentle, but sometimes critical, guidance throughout the past two years of my master’s education. His faith in my abilities and his belief in my future success ensured I continue down this path of research. Working in Dr. Narayanan’s lab has truly been an unforgettable experience as well as a critical step in my future endeavors. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my committee members, Dr. Binninger and Dr. Jia, for their support and suggestions regarding my thesis. Their recommendations added a fresh perspective that enriched our initial hypothesis. They have been indispensable as members of my committee, and I thank them for their contributions. My parents have been integral to my successes in life and their support throughout my education has been crucial. They taught me to push through difficulties and encouraged me to pursue my interests. Thank you, mom and dad! I would like to thank my boyfriend, Joshua Disatham, for his assistance in ensuring my writing maintained a logical progression and flow as well as his unwavering support. He was my rock when the stress grew unbearable and his encouraging words kept me pushing along. Lastly, I would like to thank my friends across the hall (Erick España, Douglas Holmes, and Justin Kirke) for being part of my support system and making my master’s a real adventure. iv ABSTRACT Author: Amy Makler Title: Noncoding RNAs as novel pancreatic cancer targets Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Ramaswamy Narayanan Degree: Master of Science Year: 2018 Pancreatic cancer is an abhorrent malignancy with limited diagnostics and response to drug therapy. It is believed that noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) will further the understanding behind the mechanisms of pancreatic cancer development and progression, providing a novel approach for drug development and biomarker discovery. Therefore, a database of pancreatic cancer ncRNAs was established using bioinformatics and text mining approaches. These ncRNAs were characterized for RNA expression, copy number variation, disease association, single nucleotide polymorphisms, secretome analysis, and identification of protein targets. Exosomal proteins and ncRNA identified through this study provide the basis for noninvasive diagnostic potential. Additionally, a secreted microRNA, MIR3620, emerged from this study as a potential prognostic and diagnostic biomarker for pancreatic cancer. By analyzing MIR3620 and its protein targets, a mechanism of regulation for these genes in contributing to the progression and development of pancreatic cancer was established. v NONCODING RNAS AS NOVEL PANCREATIC CANCER TARGETS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii SPECIFIC AIMS ................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE .................................................. 3 Pancreatic Cancer............................................................................................................ 3 Noncoding RNA ............................................................................................................. 7 Secretome ...................................................................................................................... 12 Bioinformatics............................................................................................................... 15 Significance................................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 2: MATERIALS AND METHODS .............................................................. 20 1. Knowledgebases ................................................................................................... 20 2. ncRNA Analysis ................................................................................................... 21 3. Genome Wide Association Studies ....................................................................... 22 4. Transcriptome Analysis ........................................................................................ 23 5. Proteome Analysis ................................................................................................ 24 6. Interactome ........................................................................................................... 25 7. Pathway Analysis .................................................................................................. 25 8. Transcription Factor Analysis ............................................................................... 26 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS .................................................................................................. 27 Experimental Design and Approach ............................................................................. 27 vi Part I: Database generation ............................................................................................... 28 1. Generation of the Pancreatic Cancer Specific ncRNA Database .......................... 28 2. Generation of the Secretome Database ................................................................. 35 Part II: Pancreatic cancer association of the ncRNAs and secretome .............................. 39 1. Secretome Analysis ............................................................................................... 39 2. ncRNA database analysis ...................................................................................... 47 3. Identification of a pancreatic cancer diagnostic fingerprint ................................. 49 Part III: Characterization of a pancreatic cancer ncRNA biomarker ................................ 56 1. MIR3620 - Background ........................................................................................ 58 2. Genome Wide Association Study Analysis of MIR3620 in Cancer ..................... 61 A. cBioPortal Analysis of MIR3620 .................................................................. 61 B. Global genomics data from International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) ........................................................................................................... 64 C. Single nucleotide polymorphisms .................................................................. 68 3. Co-amplified genes in the MIR3620 locus ........................................................... 69 4. MIR3620 expression profiling .............................................................................. 75 A. NCBI gene expression omnibus analysis....................................................... 75 B. miRIAD, DASHR, and Harmonizome expression analysis .......................... 77 C. Secreted nature of MIR3620 .......................................................................... 80 D. Text-mining ................................................................................................... 80 E. Perturbations landscape of MIR3620 -Genevestigator .................................. 83 I. Cancers........................................................................................................... 83 II. Other diseases ................................................................................................ 83 vii III. Expression in normal tissues.......................................................................... 85 IV. Pancreatic cancer cell lines ............................................................................ 86 5. MIR3620 targets mapping .................................................................................... 87 A. MIR3620 secreted protein targets .................................................................... 88 B. MIR3620 protein targets .................................................................................. 93 C. Characterizing MIR3620 protein targets .......................................................... 97 I. Apoptosis targets............................................................................................ 97 II. Cell adhesion targets ...................................................................................... 99 III. Cell cycle targets .......................................................................................... 100 IV. Chemokine and cytokine targets .................................................................. 103 V. DNA damage and repair targets................................................................... 107 VI. Growth factor targets ................................................................................... 109 VII. Oncogenes and tumor suppressor targets..................................................... 113 VIII. Transcription factor targets ........................................................................ 117 6. Pathway mapping ................................................................................................ 120