Recently an explosion in the discovery of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) was obtained by high throughput sequencing. Genome-wide transcriptome analyses, in conjugation with research for epigenetic modifications of chromatins, identified a novel type of non-protein-coding transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides named lncRNAs. They are gradually emerging as functional and critical participants in many physiological processes. Here we give an overview of the characteristics, biological functions, and working mechanism for this new class of noncoding factors.
Keywords: Cancer; Epigenetic; Long noncoding RNAs; Stem cell.