Abstract B044: PVT1 exons 4A and 4B overexpressed in prostate cancer in black males regulate prostate epithelial cell proliferation and migration

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cause of cancer-specific deaths in the United States, accounting for approximately 13% of cancer-related deaths. PCa is also the leading cancer in terms of incidence and mortality in men from Africa and the Caribbean. PCa is a multifactorial, complex disease, with the exact mechanisms for its development and progression unclear. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of PCa is necessary. This will aid in the discovery of novel and efficacious biomarkers with applications in early PCa detection and molecular therapeutic targeting. The non-protein coding gene locus Plasmacytoma Variant Translocation (PVT1) is located at 8q24 and is overexpressed in PCa. PVT1 has at least 12 exons that make separate transcripts having different functions. We have recently shown that PVT1 exons 4A and 4B are significantly overexpressed in prostate cancer tissues of Black males and are potential clinical biomarkers for prostate cancer in Black males. In this study, the role of PVT1 exons 4A and 4B in the migration and proliferation of prostate epithelial cells was examined. PVT1 exons 4A and 4B gene fragments were cloned into plasmid expression vectors and transfected into the RWPE1 prostate epithelial cell line to examine their effect on prostate epithelial cell proliferation and migration. We observed that overexpression of either PVT1 exon 4A, or PVT1 exon 4B significantly increased prostate epithelial cell migration and proliferation. This indicates that PVT1 exons 4A and 4B are functional biomarkers for prostate cancer. Better understanding of the roles of PVT1 exons 4A and 4B in PCa may lead to the future possibility of exploiting them for diagnosis, therapy, and other clinical applications in PCa.

Citation Format: Gargi Pal, Olorunseun Ogunwobi. PVT1 exons 4A and 4B overexpressed in prostate cancer in black males regulate prostate epithelial cell proliferation and migration [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr B044.