A positive regulatory loop between a Wnt-regulated non-coding RNA and ASCL2 controls intestinal stem cell fate
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ABSTRACT: The canonical Wnt pathway plays a central role in stem cell maintenance, differentiation and proliferation in the intestinal epithelium. Constitutive, aberrant activity of the TCF4/β-catenin transcriptional complex is the primary transforming factor in colorectal cancer. Despite significant recent inroads, the full complement of Wnt target genes and the mechanisms of regulation remain incompletely understood. Here we identify a nuclear long non-coding RNA, termed WiNTRLINC1, as a direct target of TCF4/β-catenin in colorectal cancer cells. WiNTRLINC1 positively regulates the expression of its close neighbor ASCL2, a transcription factor that controls intestinal stem cell fate. WiNTRLINC1 interacts with TCF4/β-catenin to mediate the juxtaposition/physical contact of its own promoter with the regulatory regions of ASCL2. ASCL2, in turn, regulates WiNTRLINC1 expression. This feedforward regulatory loop controls stem cell-related gene expression and is highly amplified in colorectal cancer.
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE69036 | GEO | 2016/06/09
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA284373
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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