Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Biotechniques. 2010 Jun;48(6):ix-xvi. doi: 10.2144/000113442.
Emerging research suggests that long noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) may play a role in the basic fabric of gene regulation in human cells. Mechanistic studies carried out on a small subset of antisense ncRNAs have begun to link RNA-mediated modifications of DNA and chromatin structure with gene expression, implicating ncRNAs in the regulation of transcription. Meanwhile, genome-wide studies have revealed that transcription of ncRNAs is far more ubiquitous than previously thought and suggest a more pervasive role for ncRNAs. This review will describe the current state of research regarding gene regulation by ncRNAs and highlight major techniques used in the field. Furthermore, the potential for therapeutic applications based on ncRNA regulation will also be discussed.
新兴研究表明，长非编码 RNA（ncRNA）可能在人类细胞的基因调控基本结构中发挥作用。对一小部分反义 ncRNA 进行的机制研究已经开始将 RNA 介导的 DNA 和染色质结构修饰与基因表达联系起来，表明 ncRNA 参与了转录调控。与此同时，全基因组研究表明，ncRNA 的转录远比以前认为的更为普遍，并暗示 ncRNA 具有更普遍的作用。本综述将描述 ncRNA 对基因调控的研究现状，并重点介绍该领域中使用的主要技术。此外，还将讨论基于 ncRNA 调控的治疗应用的潜力。
