Molecular Biology Commons^™

Regulation And Mechanistic Functions Of Caspase-9 Rna Splicing, Ngoc T. Vu

Theses and Dissertations

Caspase-9 has two splice variants, pro-apoptotic caspase-9a and anti-apoptotic caspase-9b, and dysregulation of caspase-9 splice variant ratio or expression of caspase-9b isoform has been linked to augmentation of the anchorage-independent growth and tumorigenic capacity of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. This study focuses on cell signaling pathway(s) regulating the alternative splicing of caspase-9 pre-mRNA and mechanistic roles of caspase-9b in a certain oncogenic/survival pathway. In regards to the former, we have identified hnRNP U as a novel splice-enhancer associated with exon 3 of caspase-9 (C9/E3). Moreover, hnRNP U binds specifically to C9/E3 at an RNA cis-element previously reported …