Asma Vafadar, Zahra Shabaninejad, Ahmad Movahedpour, Soheila Mohammadi, Sima Fathullahzadeh, Hamid R. Mirzaei, Afshin Namdar, Amir Savardashtaki* and Hamed Mirzaei* Pages 3563 - 3577 ( 15 )
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) constitute large portions of the mammalian transcriptome which appeared as a fundamental player, regulating various cellular mechanisms. LncRNAs do not encode proteins, have mRNA-like transcripts and frequently processed similar to the mRNAs. Many investigations have determined that lncRNAs interact with DNA, RNA molecules or proteins and play a significant regulatory function in several biological processes, such as genomic imprinting, epigenetic regulation, cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, and differentiation. LncRNAs can modulate gene expression on three levels: chromatin remodeling, transcription, and post-transcriptional processing. The majority of the identified lncRNAs seem to be transcribed by the RNA polymerase II. Recent evidence has illustrated that dysregulation of lncRNAs can lead to many human diseases, in particular, cancer. The aberrant expression of lncRNAs in malignancies contributes to the dysregulation of proliferation and differentiation process. Consequently, lncRNAs can be useful to the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, and have been characterized as potential cancer markers as well. In this review, we highlighted the role and molecular mechanisms of lncRNAs and their correlation with some of the cancers.
Long non-coding RNAs, cancer, epigenetics, mammalian transcriptome, cell cycle regulation, genomic imprinting.
Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Department of Nanotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Medical Biotechnology Research Center, Ashkezar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ashkezar, Yazd, Department of Medical Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Department of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Research Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Diseases, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan