The mechanisms of the RNA-binding proteins LARP4A and LARP4B in cancer cell migration and proliferation

The primary research question in this project is to investigate the function of the LARP4A/B RNA-binding proteins in cancer cell invasion and metastasis. RNA-binding proteins are ubiquitous proteins and deregulated expression can contribute to cancer development by altering the stability and translation of RNA transcripts. LARP4A and 4B proteins are novel regulators of cancer migration and invasion, however, their specific mRNA targets and mechanism of action are not known and they exhibit differential binding to mRNA domains. The hypothesis being tested is that LARP4A and LARP4B regulate cell morphology, migration and proliferation of carcinoma and sarcoma cells, and have distinct roles and targets in the modulation of these processes.