{"database":"GEO","file_versions":[{"headers":{"Content-Type":["application/json"]},"body":{"files":{"Other":["ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/series/GSE335nnn/GSE335525/"]},"type":"primary"},"statusCode":"OK","statusCodeValue":200}],"scores":null,"additional":{"omics_type":["Transcriptomics"],"species":["Homo sapiens"],"gds_type":["Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE335525"],"repository":["GEO"],"entry_type":["GSE"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"Targeting the splicing factor hnRNP M with an endogenous circular RNA aptamer suppresses cancer metastasis","description":"Alternative splicing (AS) is a key regulatory mechanism that expands transcriptomic diversity and is frequently hijacked by cancer cells to drive epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), thereby promoting invasion and therapy resistance. However, therapeutic strategies to reprogram pathological AS networks remain limited. Here, we identified a circular RNA, MASCOT (hnRNP M-ASsociated Circular RNA Of TGFβ), that functions as an endogenous aptamer targeting the splicing factor hnRNP M, a central regulator of EMT-related AS reprogramming. As an endogenous repressor of hnRNP M, MASCOT maintains the epithelial status of cancer cells and suppresses tumor metastasis. Conversely, its downregulation by TGFβ releases hnRNP M to initiate EMT-associated splicing changes. Restoring MASCOT expression significantly reduces metastatic burden in mouse models. Mechanistically, MASCOT scaffolds hnRNP M to nucleolin within the nucleolus, spatially sequestering hnRNP M away from the spliceosome. Our findings reveal a novel regulatory circuit that controls EMT-linked splicing and identify MASCOT as a promising RNA-based therapeutic candidate against metastatic progression.","dates":{"publication":"2026/08/04"},"accession":"GSE335525","cross_references":{"GSM":["GSM9815019","GSM9815009","GSM9815017","GSM9815018","GSM9815015","GSM9815016","GSM9815013","GSM9815014","GSM9815011","GSM9815012","GSM9815020","GSM9815010"],"GPL":["34284"],"GSE":["335525"],"taxon":["Homo sapiens"]}}