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Fu T, Amoah K, Chan TW, Bahn JH, Lee JH, Terrazas S, Chong R, Kosuri S, Xiao X. Massively parallel screen uncovers many rare 3' UTR variants regulating mRNA abundance of cancer driver genes. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3335. [PMID: 38637555 PMCID: PMC11026479 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46795-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the function of rare non-coding variants represents a significant challenge. Using MapUTR, a screening method, we studied the function of rare 3' UTR variants affecting mRNA abundance post-transcriptionally. Among 17,301 rare gnomAD variants, an average of 24.5% were functional, with 70% in cancer-related genes, many in critical cancer pathways. This observation motivated an interrogation of 11,929 somatic mutations, uncovering 3928 (33%) functional mutations in 155 cancer driver genes. Functional MapUTR variants were enriched in microRNA- or protein-binding sites and may underlie outlier gene expression in tumors. Further, we introduce untranslated tumor mutational burden (uTMB), a metric reflecting the amount of somatic functional MapUTR variants of a tumor and show its potential in predicting patient survival. Through prime editing, we characterized three variants in cancer-relevant genes (MFN2, FOSL2, and IRAK1), demonstrating their cancer-driving potential. Our study elucidates the function of tens of thousands of non-coding variants, nominates non-coding cancer driver mutations, and demonstrates their potential contributions to cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Fu
- Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Kofi Amoah
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Tracey W Chan
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Jae Hoon Bahn
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Jae-Hyung Lee
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Sciences & Oral Microbiology, School of Dentistry, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Sari Terrazas
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Rockie Chong
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Sriram Kosuri
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Xinshu Xiao
- Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
- Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
- Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
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