title: Long noncoding RNAs and tumorigenesis: genetic associations, molecular mechanisms, and therapeutic strategies.
abstract: The human genome contains a large number of nonprotein-coding sequences. Recently, new discoveries in the functions of nonprotein-coding sequences have demonstrated that the "Dark Genome" significantly contributes to human diseases, especially with regard to cancer. Of particular interest in this review are long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which comprise a class of nonprotein-coding transcripts that are longer than 200 nucleotides. Accumulating evidence indicates that a large number of lncRNAs exhibit genetic associations with tumorigenesis, tumor progression, and metastasis. Our current understanding of the molecular bases of these lncRNAs that are associated with cancer indicate that they play critical roles in gene transcription, translation, and chromatin modification. Therapeutic strategies based on the targeting of lncRNAs to disrupt their expression or their functions are being developed. In this review, we briefly summarize and discuss the genetic associations and the aberrant expression of lncRNAs in cancer, with a particular focus on studies that have revealed the molecular mechanisms of lncRNAs in tumorigenesis. In addition, we also discuss different therapeutic strategies that involve the targeting of lncRNAs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, The first Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650032, China.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Hong-Hui Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710004, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. caiguo.zhang@ucdenver.edu.
authors.forename: Caiguo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D064113:CRISPR-Cas Systems; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism; D015536:Down-Regulation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005091:Exons; D000072669:Gene Editing; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense / Q000235:genetics; D034622:RNA Interference; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding; C495901:TP53 protein, human; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
keywords: Aberrant expression; CRISPR/cas9; Cancer; Long noncoding RNA; RNAi; Therapy; p53