Narrow Results

Ribosome profiling technology (Ribo-Seq) allowed to highlight more details of mRNA translation in cell and get additional information on importance of mRNA sequence features for this process. Application of translation inhibitors like harringtonine and cycloheximide along with mRNA-Seq technique helped to assess such important characteristic as translation efficiency. We assessed the translational importance of features of mRNA sequences with the help of statistical analysis of Ribo-Seq and mRNA-Seq data. Translationally important features known from literature as well as proposed by the authors were used in analysis. Such comparisons as protein coding versus non-coding RNAs and high- versus low-translated mRNAs were performed. We revealed a set of features that allowed to discriminate the compared categories of RNA. Significant relationships between mRNA features and efficiency of translation were also established.

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.