Radiation exposure can evoke cellular stress responses. Emerging recognition that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) act as regulators of gene expression has broadened the spectra of molecules controlling the genomic landscape upon alterations in environmental conditions. Knowledge of the mechanisms responding to low dose irradiation (LDR) exposure is very limited yet most likely involve subtle ancillary molecular pathways other than those protecting the cell from direct cellular damage. The discovery that transcription of the lncRNA PARTICLE (promoter of MAT2A- antisense radiation-induced circulating lncRNA; PARTICL) becomes dramatically instigated within a day after LDR exposure introduced a new gene regulator onto the biological landscape. PARTICLE affords an RNA binding platform for genomic silencers such as DNA methyltransferase 1 and histone tri-methyltransferases to reign in the expression of tumor suppressors such as its neighboring MAT2A in cis as well as WWOX in trans. In silico evidence offers scope to speculate that PARTICLE exploits the abundance of Hoogsten bonds that exist throughout mammalian genomes for triplex formation, presumably a vital feature within this RNA silencer. PARTICLE may provide a buffering riboswitch platform for S-adenosylmethionine. The correlation of PARTICLE triplex formation sites within tumor suppressor genes and their abundance throughout the genome at cancer-related hotspots offers an insight into potential avenues worth exploring in future therapeutic endeavors.
Keywords: epigenetics; histone; long non-coding RNA; methyltransferase; radiation; triplex.
© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.