Li Ya-Pu, Wang Yangming
Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
J Genet Genomics. 2015 Mar 20;42(3):99-105. doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2015.02.002. Epub 2015 Feb 12.
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) hold great promises for treating and studying numerous devastating diseases. The molecular basis of their potential is not completely understood. Large noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are an important class of gene regulators that play essential roles in a variety of physiologic and pathologic processes. Dozens of lncRNAs are now identified to control ESC self-renewal and differentiation. Research on lncRNAs may provide novel insights into manipulating the cell fate or reprogramming somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). In this review, we summarize the recent research efforts in identifying functional lncRNAs and understanding how they act in ESCs, and discuss various future directions of this field.
胚胎干细胞在治疗和研究众多严重疾病方面极具前景。但其潜能的分子基础尚未完全明晰。长链非编码RNA（lncRNAs）是一类重要的基因调控因子，在多种生理和病理过程中发挥着关键作用。现已鉴定出数十种lncRNAs可调控胚胎干细胞的自我更新和分化。对lncRNAs的研究可能为操控细胞命运或将体细胞重编程为诱导多能干细胞（iPSCs）提供新的见解。在本综述中，我们总结了近期在鉴定功能性lncRNAs以及了解它们在胚胎干细胞中如何发挥作用方面的研究成果，并讨论了该领域的各种未来发展方向。
