Chen Hongjun, Du Guangshi, Song Xu, Li Ling
Center for Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
Center for Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China; State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
Genomics Proteomics Bioinformatics. 2017 Jun;15(3):201-207. doi: 10.1016/j.gpb.2017.02.003. Epub 2017 Jun 17.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have gained widespread interest in the past decade owing to their enormous amount and surprising functions implicated in a variety of biological processes. Some lncRNAs exert function as enhancers, i.e., activating gene transcription by serving as the cis-regulatory molecules. Furthermore, recent studies have demonstrated that many enhancer elements can be transcribed and produce RNA molecules, which are termed as enhancer RNAs (eRNAs). The eRNAs are not merely the by-product of the enhancer transcription. In fact, many of them directly exert or regulate enhancer activity in gene activation through diverse mechanisms. Here, we provide an overview of enhancer activity, transcription of enhancer itself, characteristics of eRNAs, as well as their roles in regulating enhancer activity and gene expression.
在过去十年中，长链非编码RNA（lncRNAs）因其数量众多且在多种生物学过程中具有惊人功能而受到广泛关注。一些lncRNAs发挥增强子的功能，即通过作为顺式调控分子来激活基因转录。此外，最近的研究表明，许多增强子元件可以被转录并产生RNA分子，这些分子被称为增强子RNA（eRNAs）。eRNAs不仅仅是增强子转录的副产物。事实上，它们中的许多通过多种机制直接发挥作用或调节增强子在基因激活中的活性。在这里，我们概述了增强子活性、增强子自身的转录、eRNAs的特征及其在调节增强子活性和基因表达中的作用。
