Recently, the research group led by assistant professors Zhang Yandong and Zhong Hanbing of SUSTech Department of Biology got a paper, which was entitled “DHX33 Transcriptionally Controls Genes Involved in Cell Cycle,” published online in Molecular and Cellular Biology, a famous international academic journal. The paper elaborated that the RNA helicase DHX33, as a  cell transcription factor, can influence the transcription of many regulatory genes involved in cell cycle, including cyclin, MCM, E2F1, and CDC.

The cell-cycle regulation is very important for cell growth and ontogeny, and cell cycle disorders are an important cause of cancers. In general, the cell cycle regulation is closely controlled by the interaction among cyclin D, cyclin E, cyclin A, and cyclin B. A cell cycle includes G1 (the gap before cell DNA replication), S (the period DNA replication), G2 (the gap before cell mitosis), and M (the period of mitosis). The cell cycle regulation occurs at three main check points, namely G1/S, G2/M, and the metaphase-to-anaphase transition of mitosis. The research group found that DHX33, by positively regulating a number of important genes mentioned above, facilitates cell transitions at the three different cycle check points and ultimately increases the cell proliferation and growth capacity. This function is in disorder in lung cancer cells that show mutations in the Ras oncogene. DHX33 is a downstream molecule of Ras oncogene. Cancer cells are growth-dependent on DHX33, and DHX33’s acute knockdown can cause cancer cell apoptosis and cancer cell growth inhibition. In addition, assistant professors Zhang Yandong and Zhong Hanbing jointly found that in the development of zebra fish, DHX33’s homologous gene also plays a very important physiological role in ontogeny. The role of this gene in cancers and ontogeny will be further analysed.

Since Zhang Yandong joined the SUSTech, his research group has published several papers in Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) as a co-first author and the corresponding author. MCB focuses on basic scientific research and enjoys a good international reputation. The research group’s work has received start-up funds from the Southern University of Science and Technology and the Shenzhen Municipal Government as well as support from the National Natural Science Foundation.

URL of the paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27601587