ABSTRACT
Objective:To identify the differentially expressed snoRNAs in the carcinogenesis of cells induced by α-particles radiation and predict the targeted genes and RNA-co-expression networks.Methods:Full transcriptome expression microarray biochips were employed to screen the differentially expressed snoRNAs between human bronchial epithelial BEP2D cell line and its derivative malignantly transformed cell line BERP35T-4 established by α-particle irradiation. The expression changes of snoRNAs and their derived sdRNAs were confirmed by qRT-PCR. The functional domains, targets and co-expression networks of snoRNA were predicted by bioinformatics analysis.Results:Consistent with the result of microarray assay, the expression changes of the screened snoRNAs were confirmed by qRT-PCR. The expressions of sno116 family decreased in BERP35T-4, which was 0.105% ( t=26.60, P<0.01) of BEP2D, and they were generally down-regulated in radiation-induced carcinogenic BERP35T-4 cells and the human lung cancer cell lines A549 and H1299. It was also found that the expression level of the sdRNAs derived from sno116-14 was significantly different in the same cells. It was speculated that these less expressed sdRNAs of sno116-14 could be due to degradation as the consequence of interaction with their targets. The co-expression networks of sno116 family with other types of RNA were established, and the predicted targets of sno116-14 included ZNF280D, TFDP1, CCDC28B, RPS6KA3, CANX, RUNX1 and KALRN, which were related to the functions of cell proliferation and cytoskeletal structure. Conclusions:Some differentially expressed snoRNAs related to α-particle induced carcinogenesis have been identified. It is predicted that the target gene of sno116-14 is involved in the biological processes such as cell proliferation, cytoskeletal structure and the signaling pathways for function regulation, providing new information for the function model of C/D box snoRNAs and the mechanism of radiation carcinogenesis.