Team of researchers finds cancer-causing RNA strain

PUNE: A team of researchers from the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune, and KIIT, Bhubaneswar, has discovered a strain of ribonucleic acid (RNA), over-production of which leads to cancerous growth in cells.

The researchers’ team, led by scientist Anjali Shiras from NCCS and LC Padhy from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT, Bhubaneshwar), have named this cancer-causing strain Genomic Instability Inducer RNA (GINIR).

The research findings were published in the international journal, PLoS Biology, in October this year, which the team finds an achievement, considering the criticism they had received during the research period.

“It all started in the early 2000s. There were talks between Shiras and Padhy about the functionality of non-coding RNA. I started doing my PhD in the subject and we were finally able to identify the RNA, which causes tumour development. This finding came after many batches of students did their research in the field,” Varsha Shepal, an NCCS staffer, said.

Before this discovery, it was believed that a certain type of activity by protein leads to cancer. However, this vital finding will now encourage researchers to look outside the classical concepts of oncogenesis (development of cancer).

The teams pursued the idea that non-coding RNAs — the RNAs that are transcribed from DNA, but are not subsequently converted to proteins — hold vital clues to de- regulating cell growth balance, thus, leading to abnormal cell growth, a root cause of cancer.

“When the GINIR RNA content in tumour cells were subsequently lowered, the malignant and metastatic natures of the resultant cells were blunted. These studies identified GINIR RNA as a possible new target of cancer therapy,” the researchers said.

The research also led to the identification of a hitherto unreported role of a type of protein, Cep112, as an interacting protein partner for Ginir. “A disturbance in this interaction leads to abnormal cell growth,” scientist Shiras said, adding, “While we received fair share of criticism from researchers in India and abroad during the research, we are happy that the paper is finally published.”

She said the team is now working with the possibility of regulation of this Ginir RNA. “Till now, we have done everything on mouse cells. We will have to check how it works on human cells and whether it can be diagnosed by checking body fluids, among others. So, our next phase of research will be on cancer detection and cure,” Shiras added.

The paper, titled ‘Noncoding RNA Ginir functions as an oncogene by associating with centrosomal proteins’ is authored by Panda S, Setia M, Kaur N, Shepal V, Arora V, Singh DK, Mondal A, Teli A, Tathode M, Gajula R, Padhy LC and Shiras A.