Large Intervening Non-Coding RNA HOTAIR Is an Indicator of Poor Prognosis and a Therapeutic Target in Human Cancers

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Yanlan Yao¹  Jinming Li²  Lunan Wang² 

[1] National Center for Clinical Laboratories, Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Beijing Hospital of the Ministry of Health, No. 1 Dahua Road, Beijing 100083, China; E-Mail:;National Center for Clinical Laboratories, Beijing Hospital of the Ministry of Health, No. 1 Dahua Road, Beijing 100083, China

关键词: HOTAIR;    lncrna;    polycomb repressive complex 2;    prognosis;    therapeutic target;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms151018985

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In the human genome, the fraction of protein-coding genes that are stably transcribed is only up to 2%, with the remaining numerous RNAs having no protein-coding function. These non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have received considerable attention in cancer research in recent years. Breakthroughs have been made in understanding microRNAs and small interfering RNAs, but larger RNAs such as long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) remain an enigma. One lncRNA, HOX antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR), has been shown to be dysregulated in many types of cancer, including breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and hepatoma. HOTAIR functions as a regulatory molecule in a wide variety of biological processes. However, its mechanism of action has not been clearly elucidated. It is widely believed that HOTAIR mediates chromosomal remodeling and coordinates with polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) to regulate gene expression. Further study of HOTAIR-related pathways and the role of HOTAIR in tumorigenesis and tumor progression may identify new treatment targets. In this review, we will focus on the characteristics of HOTAIR, as well as data pertaining to its mechanism and its association with cancers.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.