Presentation: 2025 ND EPSCoR Annual conference 

October 21, 2025, NDSU Memorial Union, Fargo, North Dakota

Schlafen12 and Schlafen14 inversely regulate Olfactory Receptor Gene expressions in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer. It lacks hormone receptor expression, which makes it difficult to treat due to the absence of targeted therapeutic options. The Schlafen (SLFN) family proteins play an important role in various cellular processes, such as cell proliferation, immune responses, and viral replication. SLFN12 mediates TNBC biology, and it correlates with better survival in TNBC patients, whereas the role of SLFN14 in this context remains poorly understood. Recently, Olfactory Receptors (ORs), known to be associated with odor detection, have been ectopically expressed in various cancers, including breast cancer, where they may influence tumor growth and progression. However, the effect of the SLFN family on OR genes has not yet been explored in TNBC cells. When SLFN12 is overexpressed, OR genes are decreased in expression, whereas SLFN14 overexpression leads to upregulation of OR genes. SLFN14 overexpression increases metastasis in TNBC, while overexpression of SLFN12 decreases TNBC, and this could be due to OR gene expression changes that affect TNBC. Further involvement of SLFN5 is going to be explored to understand the intra-regulation of the SLFN family effect on OR genes in TNBC. Understanding the role of SLFN family members in regulating TNBC and its link to OR expression could uncover new molecular pathways and provide new therapeutic targets for TNBC.