Poster abstracts

Poster number 45 submitted by Kevin Kunzelman

Genes harboring U12-dependent introns and their potential association with prostate cancer

Kevin Kunzelman (Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease), Girish C. Shukla (Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease)

Abstract:
Although U12-dependent introns can be found in most eukaryotic organisms, they represent a small minority of the total number of introns in the human genome. Comparison against U2-dependent introns have yielded results suggesting slower splicing kinetics of U12-dependent introns. This has led some to postulate that these introns might perform regulatory functions on the splicing rates of their host genes. Analysis of these ~600 host genes has revealed some common relationships among their functions, including MAPK signal transduction, cell cycle control and transcription. Because irregularities in these pathways can contribute to unregulated cell growth and abnormalities in androgen mediated cellular activity, we are seeking to determine whether a positive correlation can be drawn between U12-dependent intron regulation and prostate cancer.

Keywords: minor, U12-dependent, introns