Bryzghalov Oleksii, Szcześniak Michał Wojciech, Makałowska Izabela
Department of Integrative Genomics, Institute of Antropology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poznań, Poland.
Acta Biochim Pol. 2016;63(4):825-833. doi: 10.18388/abp.2016_1354. Epub 2016 Nov 2.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of intensely studied, yet enigmatic molecules that make up a substantial portion of the human transcriptome. In this work, we link the origins and functions of some lncRNAs to retroposition, a process resulting in the creation of intronless copies (retrocopies) of the so-called parental genes. We found 35 human retrocopies transcribed in antisense and giving rise to 58 lncRNA transcripts. These lncRNAs share sequence similarity with the corresponding parental genes but in the sense/antisense orientation, meaning they have the potential to interact with each other and to form RNA:RNA duplexes. We took a closer look at these duplexes and found that 10 of the lncRNAs might regulate parental gene expression and processing at the pre-mRNA and mRNA levels. Further analysis of the co-expression and expression correlation provided support for the existence of functional coupling between lncRNAs and their mate parental gene transcripts.
长链非编码RNA（lncRNA）是一类经过深入研究但仍神秘莫测的分子，它们构成了人类转录组的很大一部分。在这项研究中，我们将一些lncRNA的起源和功能与反转录定位联系起来，反转录定位是一个产生所谓亲本基因无内含子拷贝（反转录拷贝）的过程。我们发现了35个人类反转录拷贝以反义方向转录，并产生了58个lncRNA转录本。这些lncRNA与相应的亲本基因具有序列相似性，但方向为正义/反义，这意味着它们有可能相互作用并形成RNA:RNA双链体。我们进一步研究了这些双链体，发现其中10个lncRNA可能在mRNA前体和mRNA水平上调节亲本基因的表达和加工。对共表达和表达相关性的进一步分析为lncRNA与其配对的亲本基因转录本之间存在功能偶联提供了支持。
