Regulation of tumor suppressor gene FUS1 expression by the untranslated regions of mRNA in human lung cancer cells

► The UTRs of tumor suppressor gene FUS1/TUSC2 mRNA play an important role in regulation of FUS1 expression in human bronchial epithelia and lung cancer cells. ► Two uORFs in the 5′UTR inhibit FUS1 translation initiation by interfering with the scanning of the ribosome initiation complexes. ► Several RNA sequence elements/motifs in 3′UTR significantly downregulate FUS1 protein expression. ► The 3′UTR regulates FUS1 expression differentially in normal lung and tumor cells.