The role of BMI1-associated lncRNAs in advanced prostate cancer

This proposal outlines our plan to explore how BMI1 regulates lncRNAs by regulating lncRNAs expression levels, or form functional complexes with lncRNAs during prostate cancer progression. In this project, we will characterize the functions of these novel BMI1-regulated lncRNAs and BMI1-binding lncRNAs in prostate cancer. And we will elucidate how these lncRNAs work together with BMI1 to enhance the prostate cancer tumor growth, drug-resistance and metastasis. Finally, we will test if inhibiting these lncRNAs by anti-sense oligos (ASOs), which specifically deplete lncRNAs in tumor cells, has any therapeutic efficacy to kill PCa cells or repress the cancer cell/tumor growth in pre-clinical mouse models.