Role of DDX3X in T-lymphocyte migration and haematolymphoid malignancies

• Main Author: Loh, Xinpeng
• Other Authors: Navin Kumar Verma
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/72477
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The DEAD-box family of proteins are a highly conserved group of RNA helicases and participate in a plethora of cellular processes. Amongst them, DDX3X is one of the most functionally multi-faceted subgroup with diverse roles in gene regulation and cellular signal transduction. While recent reports have implicated DDX3X in cancer progression, its role in lymphoid cancer progression is poorly understood. Studies on DDX3X have yielded conflicting conclusions, with findings of both oncogenic and tumour suppressive effects in various tumour models. This study aims to examine the potential involvement of DDX3X in regulating integrin-mediated T-cell migration and in haematolymphoid malignancies. Migration is a crucial feature of T- lymphocytes required for its’ function to mount an adaptive immune response. Hence, the mechanisms involved in T-cell locomotory behaviour would be of considerable relevance to understanding immunological diseases. Here, we utilise RNA interference technique to knockdown DDX3X expression (<80%) and show that the depletion of DDX3X does not interfere with T-cell viability. Intriguingly, we demonstrated that DDX3X depletion causes concomitant increase in T-cells migratory ability. Our findings thus have implications in the understanding of haematological cancers and metastasis.