Long ncRNAs roles in cancer stem-like cells resistance to therapy in breast cancer

PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-1984
Contract nr. 76 of 01/10/2015

Project director
Dr. Oana Tudoran



Abstract:

This project will investigate the involvement of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancer stem-like cell (CSC) resistance to standard chemotherapy in breast cancers. CSCs have been showed to be responsible for resistance to standard therapy. Moreover, they are preferentially selected during conventional treatments and are able to repopulate the tumours and induce recurrence. LncRNAs have received increased attention due to their markedly different expression between tumour and normal tissues and recent association with treatment resistance. Therefore, lncRNAs have the potential to be easily translated into clinical practice as they provide better alternatives to targeting protein-coding genes, with fewer side effects. This is important since the human and financial tolls of breast cancer are steadily rising as more patients present baseline resistance rendering standard therapies ineffective, and consequently unnecessary. Therefore, we will screen for doxorubicin and carboplatin resistance specific lncRNAs in cancer stem-like cells isolated from breast cancer cells. We will characterize the functional and mechanistic roles of the most representative lncRNAs and validate their clinical application.