Definition and review on a category of long non-coding RNA: Atherosclerosis-associated circulating lncRNA (ASCLncRNA)

Shanshan Lu; Qin Liang; Yanqing Huang; Fanming Meng; Junwen Liu

doi:10.7717/peerj.10001

Definition and review on a category of long non-coding RNA: Atherosclerosis-associated circulating lncRNA (ASCLncRNA)

PeerJ. 2020 Nov 11:8:e10001. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10001. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Shanshan Lu¹, Qin Liang¹, Yanqing Huang¹, Fanming Meng², Junwen Liu^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
² Department of Parasitology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
³ China-Africa Research Center of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.

Abstract

Atherosclerosis (AS) is one of the most common cardiovascular system diseases which seriously affects public health in modern society. Finding potential biomarkers in the complicated pathological progression of AS is of great significance for the prevention and treatment of AS. Studies have shown that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can be widely involved in the regulation of many physiological processes, and have important roles in different stages of AS formation. LncRNAs can be secreted into the circulatory system through exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies. Recently, increasing studies have been focused on the relationships between circulating lncRNAs and AS development. The lncRNAs in circulating blood are expected to be new non-invasive diagnostic markers for monitoring the progression of AS. We briefly reviewed the previously reported lncRNA transcripts which related to AS development and detectable in circulating blood, including ANRIL, SENCR, CoroMarker, LIPCAR, HIF1α-AS1, LncRNA H19, APPAT, KCNQ1OT1, LncPPARδ, LincRNA-p21, MALAT1, MIAT, and UCA1. Further researches and a definition of atherosclerosis-associated circulating lncRNA (ASCLncRNA) were also discussed.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Biomarker; Circulating lncRNAs; Non-invasive diagnosis.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 81770462] and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central South University [2020zzts781]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.