Project description:The goal of our study is to investigate the role of the p53-induced lncRNA PURPL in the context of liver cancer. To achieve this, we identified transcript variants of PURPL expressed in liver cancer cells and assayed for the transcriptome changes caused by PURPL knockdown after p53 induction.
Project description:The goal of our study is to investigate the role of the p53-induced lncRNA PURPL in the context of liver cancer. To achieve this, we identified transcript variants of PURPL expressed in liver cancer cells and assayed for the transcriptome changes caused by PURPL knockdown after p53 induction.
Project description:The goal of our study is to investigate the role of the p53-induced lncRNA PURPL in the context of liver cancer. To achieve this, we identified transcript variants of PURPL expressed in liver cancer cells and assayed for the transcriptome changes caused by PURPL knockdown after p53 induction.
Project description:Analysis of changes in gene expression profile upon depletion of PURPL in HCT116 cells. The hypothesis in this study is that PURPL regulates gene expression in the p53 pathway.
Project description:PURPL is a p53-induced lncRNA that suppresses basal p53 levels. Here, we investigated PURPL upon p53 activation in liver cancer cells, where it is expressed at significantly higher levels than other cell types. Using isoform sequencing, we discovered novel PURPL transcripts that have a retained intron and/or previously unannotated exons. To determine PURPL function upon p53 activation, we performed transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) after depleting PURPL using CRISPR interference (CRISPRi), followed by Nutlin treatment to induce p53. Strikingly, although loss of PURPL in untreated cells altered the expression of only 7 genes, loss of PURPL resulted in altered expression of ~800 genes upon p53 activation, revealing a context-dependent function of PURPL. Pathway analysis suggested that PURPL is important for fine-tuning the expression of specific genes required for mitosis. Consistent with these results, we observed a significant decrease in the percentage of mitotic cells upon PURPL depletion. Collectively, these data identify novel transcripts from the PURPL locus and suggest that PURPL delicately moderates the expression of mitotic genes in the context of p53 activation to control cell cycle arrest.