Integrin α3b1-dependent gene expression in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells

Gene-level and exon-level analysis of gene expression in MDA-MB-231 cells that stably express control shRNA or integrin α3-targeting shRNA. The laminin-332-binding integrin α3b1 is expressed highly in many breast cancer cells, but its roles in regulating gene expression programs that promote breast cancer progression have not been explored. In order to identify genes that are regulated by α3b1 in human breast cancer cells, we used a lentiviral approach to express an α3-targeting shRNA to suppress integrin α3b1 in MDA-MB-231 cells, and we identified subsequent changes in gene expression and alternate exon useage. We used the Affymetrix Human Exon 1.0 ST platform to analyze biological replicates of MDA-MB-231 cells that were transduced with lentivirus to stably express either control shRNA or α3-targeting shRNA. Array data was processed by Affymetrix Exon Array Computational Tool.