Long Non-Coding RNA : Gene Structure, Expression, and Biological Relevance.

The Adjacent Noncoding Developmental Regulatory RNA () plays an important role in the control of gene expression in mammals. It is transcribed in the opposite direction to the neighboring gene with which it shares a region containing promoters. In humans, is located on chromosome 16q24.1, and is positively regulated both by the distant lung-specific -acting enhancer and by -acting FOXF1. has been shown to function as a competing endogenous RNA, sponging microRNAs and protein factors that control stability of mRNAs, and as an epigenetic modifier of chromatin structure around gene promoters and other regulatory sites, targeting them with histone methyltrasferase complexes. In mice, is essential for development of the heart, lungs, and gastrointestinal system; its homozygous loss causes embryonic or perinatal lethality. Importantly, deregulation of expression has been causatively linked also to tumorigenesis, resistance to chemotherapy, fibrosis, and inflammatory diseases. Here, we review the current knowledge on the structure, expression, and involvement in development and tissue maintenance.