Pseudogenes: Newly Discovered Players in Human Cancer

Abstract

Because they are generally noncoding and thus considered nonfunctional and unimportant, pseudogenes have long been neglected. Recent advances have established that the DNA of a pseudogene, the RNA transcribed from a pseudogene, or the protein translated from a pseudogene can have multiple, diverse functions and that these functions can affect not only their parental genes but also unrelated genes. Therefore, pseudogenes have emerged as a previously unappreciated class of sophisticated modulators of gene expression, with a multifaceted involvement in the pathogenesis of human cancer.

Formation and Expression of Pseudogenes on the B Chromosome of Rye

“…B-caused downregulation of A-located genes is likely mediated by mechanisms that have been postulated for pseudogenes of other species. A growing body of evidence strongly suggests a role for pseudogenes in regulating parental gene expression by serving as a source of endogenous siRNA and antisense transcripts as competitive inhibitors of translation of wild-type transcripts and of sequestering microRNAs (reviewed in Poliseno, 2012). Another possibility for how Bs could exert control on As is their effect on the spatial interphase organization of the genome itself.…”

LncRNA BCAR4 wires up signaling transduction in breast cancer

“…By definition, pseudogenes are dysfunctional counterparts of genes that have lost protein-coding potential due to accumulation of mutations during genome evolution. 25 They are generally identified by computational analysis of genomic sequences using complex algorithms and are characterized by homology to a known gene and nonfunctionality. 26 It is estimated that the human genome contains more than 18,000 pseudogenes.…”

“…27 More and more evidence suggests that pseudogenes may have physiological significance by their direct interactions with DNA or transcripts of the parental protein-coding genes. 25 Recently, it was revealed that the mRNA levels of the tumor suppressor PTEN and oncogenic KRAS are regulated by their pseudogenes PTENP1 and KRASP1, attributing a novel biological role to expressed pseudogenes in cancer progression. 28 Four) Long intronic ncRNAs.…”

Proteomics Techniques for the Detection of Translated Pseudogenes

“…Examples of full-length pseudogenic proteins do exist. However, short pseudogenic peptides are more common [ 11 ] and their unequivocal annotation represents a very interesting subject of investigation.…”