Zhang Jixing, Ding Tianyi, Zhang He
Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Life Science and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Frontier Science Research Center for Stem Cells, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Apr 14;9:649605. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.649605. eCollection 2021.
Chromatin-enriched RNAs (cheRNAs) constitute a special class of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are enriched around chromatin and function to activate neighboring or distal gene transcription. Recent studies have shown that cheRNAs affect chromatin structure and gene expression by recruiting chromatin modifiers or acting as bridges between distal enhancers and promoters. The abnormal transcription of cheRNAs plays an important role in the occurrence of many diseases, particularly tumors. The critical effect of cancer stem cells (CSCs) on the formation and development of tumors is well known, but the function of cheRNAs in tumorigenesis, especially in CSC proliferation and stemness maintenance, is not yet fully understood. This review focuses on the mechanisms of cheRNAs in epigenetic regulation and chromatin conformation and discusses the way cheRNAs function in CSCs to deepen the understanding of tumorigenesis and provide novel insight to advance tumor-targeting therapy.
富含染色质的RNA（cheRNAs）构成了一类特殊的长链非编码RNA（lncRNAs），它们在染色质周围富集，并具有激活邻近或远端基因转录的功能。最近的研究表明，cheRNAs通过招募染色质修饰因子或作为远端增强子与启动子之间的桥梁来影响染色质结构和基因表达。cheRNAs的异常转录在许多疾病尤其是肿瘤的发生中起重要作用。癌症干细胞（CSCs）对肿瘤形成和发展的关键作用是众所周知的，但cheRNAs在肿瘤发生中的功能，尤其是在CSC增殖和干性维持中的功能尚未完全了解。本综述重点关注cheRNAs在表观遗传调控和染色质构象中的机制，并讨论cheRNAs在CSCs中的作用方式，以加深对肿瘤发生的理解，并为推进肿瘤靶向治疗提供新的见解。
