NBR2: A former junk gene emerges as a key player in tumor suppression

Abstract

NBR2 (neighbor of BRCA1 gene 2) is a non–protein coding gene that resides adjacent to tumor suppressor gene BRCA1, but its role in cancer biology has remained unknown. Our recent study showed that NBR2 encodes a long non-coding RNA and suppresses tumor development through regulation of adenosine monophosphate–activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation.