KRAB zinc fingers (KZFPs) are a large family of transcription factors that act as repressors of transposable elements (TEs), which are DNA sequences capable of self replicating to new locations in the genome. LINE-1 is a notable TE that makes up ~17% of the human genome and is highly prevalent in epithelial-derived cancers (carcinomas). It is known that KRAB zinc finger 136 (ZNF136) has high binding affinity to LINE-1, but the exact impact is largely unknown. There is data to suggest a correlation between better outcomes for lung cancer patients and high expression of ZNF136. The function of ZNF136 in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) will be investigated by up-regulating the expression of ZNF136, performing a knockout of the genes that express ZNF136, and attempting to rescue any observed phenotype changes. Observations will be made with the readouts RNA-seq, western blot, and immunofluorescence (IF). Elucidating the role of ZNF136 in regulating cancer will add to the body of work that seeks to understand how best to create therapeutics that target cancer.
Northeastern University
