Targeting Dysregulated RNA Processing in Cancer

Dear colleagues,

Emerging data show that co-transcriptional and post-transcriptional modifications of protein-encoding messenger RNAs are important determinants of oncogenesis, response to cancer treatment, and anticancer drug resistance. Aberrant RNA methylation, splicing, and editing affect mRNA transport and stability, as well as its translation into protein isoforms with distinct or even opposing functions. Alternative mRNA splicing products and loss of canonically spliced variants were shown to correlate with stage and progression in malignancy. Frequent somatic mutations in regulators of RNA modification and altered splicing patterns in key cancer-associated genes were found in cancer cells and have been proposed as a hallmark of cancer. A deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with dysregulated RNA modification and the study of altered RNA modification events in cancer cells can provide key insights into the pathophysiology of cancer and pave the way for biomarker discovery and identification of novel therapeutic vulnerabilities. In particular, small molecule inhibitors of alternative RNA splicing represent a potentially promising class of anti-cancer agents, currently progressing toward clinical development.

This Special Issue of IJMS will provide new research results to broaden our understanding of dysregulated RNA processing in cancer and its effects on disease progression and treatment efficacy, as well as the identification of new biomarkers, therapeutic targets and experimental medicines based on this knowledge. Novel insights that may contribute to more effective cancer treatment are of particular interest for this issue. Authors are invited to submit their original research and timely review articles.

Relevant topics include, but are not limited to the following:

• Identification of cancer-associated patterns of dysregulated RNA processing
• Detection of genetic alterations in cancer that affect RNA processing
• RNA splicing isoforms as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets
• Structural and functional analysis of RNA modifying proteins
• Discovery of drugs targeting RNA modifying proteins
• Preclinical or clinical evaluation of spliceosome-targeting compounds
• Strategies to modulate oncogenic RNA splicing events
• Bioinformatic analysis methods to study dysregulated RNA processing
• Identification of putative cancer neoantigens formed by aberrant RNA processing

Prof. Dr. Victor van Beusechem
Guest Editor

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