Post-transcriptional regulation of FGF-2; role of antisense gene expression

The actions of many hormones and growth factors ultimately converge on common pathways in their target cells to increase the capacity for protein synthesis and growth. These pathways are tightly controlled to prevent unregulated cell growth and loss of these control mechanisms frequently leads to proliferative diseases such as cancer. We have found that one such growth factor, FGF2, appears to be regulated by a complementary or "antisense" gene we call GFG. We have found that expression of GFG is lost in some human cancers, and that expression of recombinant GFG in tumor cells can suppress FGF2 and inhibit tumor cell growth. The present research is directed toward defining the role of this "antisense" RNA in the function of normal cells, and its dysregulation in tumor cells.