摘要
Signaling pathways are tightly controlled systems that regulate the appropriate timing of gene expression required for the differentiation of cells down a particular lineage essential for proper tissue development.Proliferation,apoptosis and metabolic pathways are just a few examples of the signaling pathways that require fine-tuning,so as to control the proper development of a particular tissue type or organ system.An estimated 70%of the genome is actively transcribed,only 2%of which codes for known protein-coding genes.Long noncoding RNAs(lncRNAs)in particular,are a large and diverse class of RNAs>200 nucleotides in length,and not translated into protein.lncRNAs are essential transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators that control the expression of genes in a spatial,temporal,and cell context-dependent manner.The aberrant expression of lncRNAs is therefore linked with a number of chronic diseases including cardiac dysfunction,diabetes,and cancer.In this review,we highlight the specific role lncRNAs have in promoting the metastatic cascade across a number of epithelial cancer models.
基金
This work was supported by The Brain Institute of America Foundation.
