Cardiovascular Branch, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
Cardiovasc Drugs Ther. 2021 Jun;35(3):655-662. doi: 10.1007/s10557-021-07158-2. Epub 2021 Feb 20.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have evolved as a critical regulatory mechanism for almost all biological processes. By dynamically interacting with their molecular partners, lncRNAs regulate gene activity at multiple levels ranging from transcription, pre-mRNA splicing, RNA transporting, RNA decay, and translation of mRNA.
Dysregulation of lncRNAs has been associated with human diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative, and cardiometabolic diseases. However, as lncRNAs are usually much less conserved than mRNAs at the sequence level, most human lncRNAs are either primate or human specific. The pathophysiological significance of human lncRNAs is still mostly unclear due to the persistent limitations in studying human-specific genes. This review will focus on recent discoveries showing human lncRNAs' roles in regulating metabolic homeostasis and the potential of targeting this unique group of genes for treatment of cardiometabolic diseases.
长链非编码 RNA（lncRNA）已演变为几乎所有生物过程的关键调控机制。通过与分子伴侣的动态相互作用，lncRNA 可以在多个层面上调节基因活性，包括转录、前体 mRNA 剪接、RNA 转运、RNA 降解以及 mRNA 的翻译。
lncRNA 的失调与人类疾病有关，包括癌症、神经退行性疾病和心血管代谢疾病。然而，由于 lncRNA 在序列水平上通常比 mRNA 的保守性差得多，大多数人类 lncRNA 是灵长类或人类特有的。由于研究人类特异性基因的持续限制，人类 lncRNA 的病理生理学意义仍大多不清楚。本综述将重点介绍最近的发现，这些发现表明人类 lncRNA 在调节代谢稳态中的作用，以及针对这一独特基因群治疗心血管代谢疾病的潜力。
