TATA box-based analysis reveals activation of growth programs in bladder cancer cells despite ferroptosis activation

A poorly studied mechanism suggests that growth is characterized by the expression of TATA-less genes under favorable conditions, while stress induces TATA-containing genes involved in stress responses. The role of this mechanism in cancer remains unclear. This study analyzes the presence of TATA boxes in gene expression data from bladder cancer (BC) cells undergoing ferroptosis (siUSP52 cells), a form of programmed cell death. We hypothesize that growth-related genes (TATA-less) are underrepresented in siUSP52 cells. We found a high prevalence of TATA-less genes in siUSP52 cells (62 of 90 differentially expressed), suggesting that BC promotes growth despite ferroptosis activation.