title: Large intervening non-coding RNA HOTAIR is an indicator of poor prognosis and a therapeutic target in human cancers.
abstract: In the human genome, the fraction of protein-coding genes that are stably transcribed is only up to 2%, with the remaining numerous RNAs having no protein-coding function. These non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have received considerable attention in cancer research in recent years. Breakthroughs have been made in understanding microRNAs and small interfering RNAs, but larger RNAs such as long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) remain an enigma. One lncRNA, HOX antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR), has been shown to be dysregulated in many types of cancer, including breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and hepatoma. HOTAIR functions as a regulatory molecule in a wide variety of biological processes. However, its mechanism of action has not been clearly elucidated. It is widely believed that HOTAIR mediates chromosomal remodeling and coordinates with polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) to regulate gene expression. Further study of HOTAIR-related pathways and the role of HOTAIR in tumorigenesis and tumor progression may identify new treatment targets. In this review, we will focus on the characteristics of HOTAIR, as well as data pertaining to its mechanism and its association with cancers.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Clinical Laboratories, Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Beijing Hospital of the Ministry of Health, No. 1 Dahua Road, Beijing 100083, China. yaoylan@126.com.
authors.forename: Yanlan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: National Center for Clinical Laboratories, Beijing Hospital of the Ministry of Health, No. 1 Dahua Road, Beijing 100083, China. jmli63hn@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jinming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: National Center for Clinical Laboratories, Beijing Hospital of the Ministry of Health, No. 1 Dahua Road, Beijing 100083, China. lnwang@nccl.org.cn.
authors.forename: Lunan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C561566:HOTAIR long untranslated RNA, human; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding