PIWI-interacting RNAs function as novel tumor suppressors in glioblastoma multiforme

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that partner with PIWI proteins to protect germline tissues from destabilizing transposon activity. While the aberrant expression of PIWI proteins has been linked with poor outcomes for many cancers, less is known about the expression or function of piRNAs in cancer. We performed array-based piRNA expression profiling in seven pairs of normal and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) tissue specimens and identified expression of ~350 piRNAs in both tissues and a subset with dysregulated expression in GBM. Several down-regulated piRNAs inhibited proliferation when transfected into glioma cell lines while those equivalently expressed in tumor and normal tissues did not, consistent with piRNA-specific tumor-suppressive roles. Upregulation of the most underexpressed piRNA, piR-8041, was found to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and to alter transcriptional levels of several genes involved in stress and cell survival pathways. Additionally, the volume of intracranial mouse xenograft tumors was significantly reduced for approximately ten days after pre-implantation transfection with piR-8041. Taken together, our study reveals a previously unidentified functional role for piRNAs as tumor suppressors in gliomagenesis, and suggests that restoration of piRNA levels may be a potential strategy for GBM therapy. Expression profiling was performed for [1] piR-8041- and NC-transfected U87 cells in biological duplicate [2] pooled RNA samples from seven GBM and seven normal brain tissue specimens in biological duplicate.