Sato Keisaku, Glaser Shannon, Francis Heather, Alpini Gianfranco
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States.
Department of Medical Physiology, Texas A&M University, College of Medicine, Bryan, TX, United States.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2020 Feb 20;7:48. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2020.00048. eCollection 2020.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNAs with lengths exceeding 200 nucleotides that are not translated into proteins. It is well-known that small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), regulate gene expression and play an important role in cholangiopathies. Recent studies have demonstrated that lncRNAs may also play a key role in the pathophysiology of cholangiopathies. Patients with cholangiopathies often develop cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), which is cholangiocyte-derived cancer, in the later stage. Cholangiocytes are a primary target of therapies for cholangiopathies and CCA development. Previous studies have demonstrated that expression levels of lncRNAs are altered in the liver of cholangiopathies or CCA tissues. Some lncRNAs regulate gene expression by inhibiting functions of miRNAs leading to diseased liver conditions or CCA progression, suggesting that lncRNAs could be a novel therapeutic target for those disorders. This review summarizes current understandings of functional roles of lncRNAs in cholangiopathies and seek their potentials for novel therapies.
长链非编码RNA（lncRNAs）是长度超过200个核苷酸且不翻译成蛋白质的RNA。众所周知，微小RNA（miRNAs）等小非编码RNA可调节基因表达，并在胆管疾病中发挥重要作用。最近的研究表明，lncRNAs在胆管疾病的病理生理学中也可能起关键作用。胆管疾病患者在后期常发展为胆管癌（CCA），这是一种胆管细胞源性癌症。胆管细胞是胆管疾病和CCA发展治疗的主要靶点。先前的研究表明，lncRNAs的表达水平在胆管疾病或CCA组织的肝脏中发生改变。一些lncRNAs通过抑制miRNAs的功能来调节基因表达，从而导致肝脏疾病或CCA进展，这表明lncRNAs可能是这些疾病的新型治疗靶点。本综述总结了目前对lncRNAs在胆管疾病中功能作用的认识，并探索它们在新型治疗中的潜力。
