lncRNAs and microRNAs with a role in cancer development

Abstract

Most diseases, including human cancer, are frequently associated with an altered transcription pattern. The alteration of the transcriptome is not restricted to the production of aberrant levels of protein-coding RNAs, but also refers to the dysregulation of the expression of the multiple noncoding members that comprise the human genome. Unexpectedly, recent RNA-seq data of the human transcriptome have revealed that less than 2% of the genome encodes protein-coding transcripts, even though the vast majority of the genome is actively transcribed into non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) under different conditions. In this review, we present an updated version of the mechanistic aspects of some long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that play critical roles in human cancer. Most importantly, we focus on the interplay between lncRNAs and microRNAs, and the importance of such interactions during the tumorigenic process, providing new insight into the regulatory mechanisms underlying several ncRNA classes of importance in cancer, particularly transcribed ultraconserved regions (T-UCRs).

Epigenetic inactivation of the p53-induced long noncoding RNA TP53 target 1 in human cancer

“…The other main group of ncRNAs is the long ncRNAs (lncRNAs; arbitrarily >200 nt), which are defined as lacking protein-coding potential but otherwise often display mRNA-like properties, including multiexonic gene structures and poly(A) tails (2,3). LncRNAs are associated with a variety of regulatory functions, including chromatin-related roles, splicing control, and transcriptional regulation (7)(8)(9). Despite recent reports describing aberrant expression of lncRNAs in human tumors (8)(9)(10)(11), few of these molecules have been carefully characterized with respect to their functional roles in the promotion or inhibition of carcinogenesis (12,13).…”

“…LncRNAs are associated with a variety of regulatory functions, including chromatin-related roles, splicing control, and transcriptional regulation (7)(8)(9). Despite recent reports describing aberrant expression of lncRNAs in human tumors (8)(9)(10)(11), few of these molecules have been carefully characterized with respect to their functional roles in the promotion or inhibition of carcinogenesis (12,13). However, significant exceptions exist, and mechanisms of action and downstream cellular effects have been demonstrated for lncRNAs acting as oncogenes, such as HOTAIR (14) and MALAT1 (15), or as tumor suppressors, such as LincRNA-p21 (16) and Uc.283+A (17).…”

Long noncoding RNA LINC00978 promotes cancer growth and acts as a diagnostic biomarker in gastric cancer

“…5 Growing evidence suggests that lncRNAs are key players in cancer. 6,7 Up to now, lncRNAs have been demonstrated to play vital roles in tumour initiation, progression and metastasis through modulating oncogenic and tumour-suppressing pathways. 8,9 In addition, recent studies have indicated that a number of lncRNAs are dysregulated in gastric cancer.…”

Long non-coding RNA SPRY4-IT1: a new player in different diseases

“…They play diverse structural and regulatory roles in cells such as chromatin modification, transcription, and REVIEW posttranscriptional processing. Except for diverse biological processes, different studies have already shown that aberrant lncRNA expression may result in the progression of human diseases, including cancers [3] .…”

“…The ncRNAs can be categorized into several groups, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), such as microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAS (siRNAs), small nuclear (snRNAs), small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), and piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), etc. NcRNA may play a crucial role in cellular proliferation, physiology and pathologies although initially considered to be transcriptional noise or artifacts [2,3] . NcRNAs can also be grouped into two major groups according to their size.…”