Long noncoding RNA INCA1 regulates tumor interferon signaling [CLIP-seq]

Tumor interferon signaling regulates the expression of immunosuppressive molecules and promotes cancer immune evasion. Although the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the regulation of gene expression is now emerging, their function in tumor interferon signaling remains unexplored. We have identified the interferon-? (IFN?)-stimulated non-coding RNA 1 (INCA1) as a novel lncRNA expressed form the PD-L1 locus. INCA1 is expressed in multiple tumor types and its levels increase after IFN? stimulation. Silencing INCA1 decreased the expression of several interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). We discovered that the transcripts of some ISGs are negatively regulated by HNRNPH1. We demonstrate that binding of INCA1 to HNRNPH1 is required for ISG expression. Overall, our findings reveal a mechanism of tumor interferon signaling regulation mediated by the lncRNA INCA1. Overall design: Melanoma cell line was stimulated with interferon gamma for 6 hours. RNAs bound to HNRNPH1 were identified by CLIP-seq using Illumina HiSeq4000.