长链非编码RNA功能的研究进展及其与癌症的关系

Advances in Functional Studies of lnc RNAs and Their Roles in Cancer

长链非编码RNA(long noncoding RNA,lnc RNA)是指长度在200个核苷酸以上且不能编码蛋白质的RNA。lnc RNA起初被认为是转录噪声,但后续研究表明,许多lnc RNA只在机体特定生理状态的特定部位表达,或是只在某些特定的生物过程中表达,对特定lnc RNA的基因敲低可导致表型改变,从而证明了其是有功能的。事实上,目前的lnc RNA研究几乎覆盖所有的生理学和病理学过程,也包括癌症的发生发展。癌症是细胞失控生长所导致的一类疾病,是每年人口死亡的主要原因之一,其发生、发展机理与相应治疗策略的研究,已成为当今的一大课题。近年来,越来越多的lnc RNA被证明参与了癌症的多种发生发展过程,从而逐渐成为预防与治疗癌症的新突破口。文章就lnc RNA目前已知的功能及其与癌症的关系做一综述。

Long non-coding RNAs （IncRNAs） are transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides with no protein-coding capacity. Previously, IncRNAs were considered as transcriptional noises, but further researches showed that many IncRNAs express in specific parts of the body under specific physiological conditions, or in specific biological processes. Moreover, the knockdown of specific IncRNAs can cause phenotype differences from the wild type, revealing that IncRNAs are functional. In fact, IncRNAs related researches involve in almost every physiological and pathological process, including the initiation and progression of cancer. Cancer is a kind of disease caused by uncontrolled growth of cells, as one of the top causes of human deaths every year, and it is a big task to investigate the mechanisms and find therapy strategies of cancer. More and more IncRNAs are proved to be involved in various processes of cancer, and the field of IncRNAs surely will become a new breakthrough for prevention and therapy of cancer. Here, the functions of known IncRNAs and their roles in cancer were reviewed and summarized.