Long non-coding RNAs (long ncRNAs, lncRNA) are non-protein coding transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides.

This somewhat arbitrary limit distinguishes long ncRNAs from small regulatory RNAs such as microRNAs (miRNAs), short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), and other short RNAs.

They participate extensively in biological processes of various cancers. The majority of these transcripts are uniquely expressed in differentiated tissues or specific cancer types ¹⁾.

Emerging evidence reveal that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) participates in the epigenetic regulation of pathophysiological process.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been proposed as promoter or inhibitor in many cancer processes.

LncRNAs are involved in many cellular processes, such as angiogenesis, invasion, cell proliferation, and apoptosis.

Genome-wide transcriptional studies have demonstrated that tens of thousands of lncRNA genes are expressed in the CNS and that they exhibit tissue– and cell-type specificity. Their regulated and dynamic expression, and their co-expression with protein-coding gene neighbours, have led to the study of the functions of lncRNAs in CNS development and disorders.

In a review, Cuevas-Diaz Duran et al., from the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery, Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, UT Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, Houston, Tecnologico de Monterrey, describe the general characteristics, localization, and classification of lncRNAs. They also elucidate examples of the molecular mechanisms of nuclear and cytoplasmic lncRNA actions in the CNS and discuss common experimental approaches used to identify and unveil the functions of lncRNAs. Additionally, they provide examples of lncRNA studies of cell differentiation and CNS disorders including CNS injuries and neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, they review novel lncRNA-based therapies. Overall, this review highlights the important biological roles of lncRNAs in CNS functions and disorders ²⁾.

see Long noncoding RNA in glioma.

see Long noncoding RNA in meningioma.

see Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are highly stable, circularized long noncoding RNAs.

see also Long noncoding RNA MALAT1.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have received increased research interest owing to their participation via distinct mechanisms in the biological processes of clinically nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas. However, changes in the expression of lncRNAs in gonadotrophin adenoma, which is the most common nonfunctional pituitary adenomas, have not yet been reported. In this study, we performed a genome-wide analysis of lncRNAs and mRNAs obtained from gonadotrophin adenoma patients’ samples and normal pituitary tissues using RNA-seq. The differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were identified using fold-change filtering. We identified 839 lncRNAs and 1015 mRNAs as differentially expressed. Gene Ontology analysis indicated that the biological functions of differentially expressed mRNAs were related to transcription regulator activity and basic metabolic processes. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis was performed to identify 64 canonical pathways that were significantly enriched in the tumor samples. Furthermore, to investigate the potential regulatory roles of the differentially expressed lncRNAs on the mRNAs, we constructed general co-expression networks for 100 coding and 577 non-coding genes that showed significantly correlated expression patterns in tumor cohort. In particular, we built a special sub-network of co-expression involving 186 lncRNAs interacting with 15 key coding genes of the mTOR pathway, which might promote the pathogenesis of gonadotrophin tumor. This is the first study to explore the patterns of genome-wide lncRNAs expression and co-expression with mRNAs, which might contribute to the molecular pathogenesis of gonadotrophin adenoma ³⁾.