Browsing by Author "Al Abo, Muthana"
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Item Open Access A widespread length-dependent splicing dysregulation in cancer.(Science advances, 2022-08) Zhang, Sirui; Mao, Miaowei; Lv, Yuesheng; Yang, Yingqun; He, Weijing; Song, Yongmei; Wang, Yongbo; Yang, Yun; Al Abo, Muthana; Freedman, Jennifer A; Patierno, Steven R; Wang, Yang; Wang, ZefengDysregulation of alternative splicing is a key molecular hallmark of cancer. However, the common features and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report an intriguing length-dependent splicing regulation in cancers. By systematically analyzing the transcriptome of thousands of cancer patients, we found that short exons are more likely to be mis-spliced and preferentially excluded in cancers. Compared to other exons, cancer-associated short exons (CASEs) are more conserved and likely to encode in-frame low-complexity peptides, with functional enrichment in GTPase regulators and cell adhesion. We developed a CASE-based panel as reliable cancer stratification markers and strong predictors for survival, which is clinically useful because the detection of short exon splicing is practical. Mechanistically, mis-splicing of CASEs is regulated by elevated transcription and alteration of certain RNA binding proteins in cancers. Our findings uncover a common feature of cancer-specific splicing dysregulation with important clinical implications in cancer diagnosis and therapies.Item Open Access Adaptive stress response genes associated with breast cancer subtypes and survival outcomes reveal race-related differences.(NPJ breast cancer, 2022-06) Al Abo, Muthana; Gearhart-Serna, Larisa; Van Laere, Steven; Freedman, Jennifer A; Patierno, Steven R; Hwang, Eun-Sil Shelley; Krishnamurthy, Savitri; Williams, Kevin P; Devi, Gayathri RAggressive breast cancer variants, like triple negative and inflammatory breast cancer, contribute to disparities in survival and clinical outcomes among African American (AA) patients compared to White (W) patients. We previously identified the dominant role of anti-apoptotic protein XIAP in regulating tumor cell adaptive stress response (ASR) that promotes a hyperproliferative, drug resistant phenotype. Using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we identified 46-88 ASR genes that are differentially expressed (2-fold-change and adjusted p-value < 0.05) depending on PAM50 breast cancer subtype. On average, 20% of all 226 ASR genes exhibited race-related differential expression. These genes were functionally relevant in cell cycle, DNA damage response, signal transduction, and regulation of cell death-related processes. Moreover, 23% of the differentially expressed ASR genes were associated with AA and/or W breast cancer patient survival. These identified genes represent potential therapeutic targets to improve breast cancer outcomes and mitigate associated health disparities.