Identification of ETV6/RUNX1 regulated lncRNAs

Overwhelming evidence indicates that long non-coding RNAs have essential roles in tumorigenesis. Nevertheless, their expression and role in pediatric B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia has not been extensively explored. Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the long non-coding RNA transcriptome in ETV6/RUNX1 positive BCP-ALL, one of the most frequent subtypes of pediatric leukemia. An ETV6/RUNX1 expression signature was established, consisting of 596 lncRNAs (434 up and 162 down) using expression analysis of a series of primary patient samples. Subsequently, RNA sequencing from BCP-ALL cell lines and shRNA-mediated silencing of ETV6/RUNX1, illustrated that lnc-NKX2-3-1, lnc-TIMM21-5, lnc-ASTN1-1 and lnc-RTN4R-1 are bona fide ETV6/RUNX1 targets and could serve as novel biomarkers of this prevalent subtype of human leukemia. REH cell lines were treated either with shRNA against ETV6/RUNX1 fusion or with non-targeting shRNA. This was performed for 3 replicates. Expression profiling was performed on three samples with fusion knockdown and three scrambles.