Narrow Results

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a new class of endogenous molecules identified in recent years. Studies on the cancer transcriptome have identified a number of lncRNAs with distinct expression patterns in different types of cancer, indicating that this populous group of molecules can modulate cancer progression. In addition, advances in revealing the molecular principles of cancer-associated lncRNAs made them amenable for therapeutic intervention. Although more than 50,000 lncRNAs have been identified, their functions in cellular homeostasis and pathophysiological processes remain largely uncharacterized. In this review, we summarize cancer-related lncRNAs that have been identified in recent years and discuss their mechanistic roles as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. These findings provide insights into clinical application of lncRNAs as biomarkers or therapeutic targets.

Numerous crosstalk interactions between RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) have been recently reported, unveiling the complexity and importance of gene expression modulation in health and disease. They control physiological processes such as stem cell maintenance, neuronal development or energetic metabolism, but are also responsible for pathological conditions, such as muscle waste and dystrophies, atherosclerosis, obesity and cancer. MiRNAs and RBPs are two of the well-studied post-transcriptional regulators and they may even reciprocally regulate themselves. MiRNAs can act on RBPs expression while RBPs modulate miRNA biogenesis, function and degradation. RBPs and miRNAs modulate mRNA expression at different levels, affecting their stability, splicing and translation efficiency through either competition for overlapping binding or modulation of mRNA structure by binding, but several other forms of interaction have been described. In this review, we will address the current bibliography regarding miRNA:RBP interactions and crosstalk events as well as their implications in health and disease.