Long RNAs turn up gene expression

摘要

Long RNA molecules that do not code for proteins boost the expression of certain human genes, including those linked to development. Typically, regulatory RNAs, such as microRNAs, quiet gene expression. Ramin Shiekhattar at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his colleagues found 3,019 RNA molecules, averaging 800 nucleotides in length, after scouring a portion of the human genome. When the team stimulated the development of a type of human skin cell, expression levels of many of the long non-coding RNA molecules rose in step with those of nearby protein-coding genes. Reducing the levels of a set of the RNA molecules in various cell lines also curbed the expression of neighbouring genes, including one coding for a protein that regulates blood-cell development.