Although the existence of small molecules of RNA that do not encode any amino acid chain has been proven two decades ago, their significance and extensive effect on cellular processes is still amazing. Many new studies fo-cused on finding new non-coding RNAs and the clarifica-tion of their functions in the organism are continuously published. This paper summarizes the current knowledge of small non-coding RNAs and their functions, both in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.

• MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• RNA, Small Untranslated * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Review MeSH

Lidský genom obsahuje asi 22 000 protein kódujících genů, které dávají vznik ještě většímu množství messengerové RNA (mRNA). Výsledky projektu ENCODE z roku 2012 však ukazují, že byť je až 90 % našeho genomu aktivně přepisováno, tak mRNA dávající vznik proteinům tvoří pouze 2–3 % z celkového množství přepsané RNA. Zbývající RNA transkripty nedávají vznik proteinům a nesou proto označení „nekódující RNA“. Dříve se nekódující RNA považovala za „temnou hmotu genomu“, nebo za „odpad“, který se v naší DNA nahromadil v průběhu evoluce. Dnes již víme, že nekódující RNA plní v našem těle celou řadu regulačních funkcí – zasahují do epigenetických procesů od remodelace chromatinu k metylaci histonů, nebo do vlastního procesu transkripce, či do posttranskripčních procesů. Dlouhé nekódující RNA (lncRNA) jsou jednou ze tříd nekódujících RNA s délkou nad 200 nukleotidů (nekódující RNA s délkou pod 200 nukleotidů označujeme jako krátké nekódující RNA). lncRNA představují velice pestrou a rozsáhlou skupinu molekul s rozličnými regulačními funkcemi. Můžeme je identifkovat ve všech myslitelných buněčných typech, či tkáních, nebo dokonce v extracelulárním prostoru, a to včetně krve, potažmo plazmy. Jejich hladiny se mění v průběhu organogeneze, jsou specifické pro jednotlivé tkáně a k jejich změnám dochází i při vzniku různých onemocnění, včetně aterosklerózy. Cílem tohoto souhrnného článku je jednak představit problematiku lncRNA a některé jejich konkrétní zástupce ve vztahu k procesu aterosklerózy (popsat zapojení lncRNA do biologie endotelových buněk, hladkosvalových buněk cévní stěny, či buněk imunitních), a dále poukázat na možný klinický potenciál lncRNA, ať již v diagnostice či terapii aterosklerózy a jejích klinických manifestací.

The human genome contains about 22 000 protein-coding genes that are transcribed to an even larger amount of messenger RNAs (mRNA). Interestingly, the results of the project ENCODE from 2012 show, that despite up to 90 % of our genome being actively transcribed, protein-coding mRNAs make up only 2–3 % of the total amount of the transcribed RNA. The rest of RNA transcripts is not translated to proteins and that is why they are referred to as “non-coding RNAs”. Earlier the non-coding RNA was considered “the dark matter of genome”, or “the junk”, whose genes has accumulated in our DNA during the course of evolution. Today we already know that non-coding RNAs fulfil a variety of regulatory functions in our body – they intervene into epigenetic processes from chromatin remodelling to histone methylation, or into the transcription process itself, or even post-transcription processes. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are one of the classes of non-coding RNAs that have more than 200 nucleotides in length (non-coding RNAs with less than 200 nucleotides in length are called small non-coding RNAs). lncRNAs represent a widely varied and large group of molecules with diverse regulatory functions. We can identify them in all thinkable cell types or tissues, or even in an extracellular space, which includes blood, specifically plasma. Their levels change during the course of organogenesis, they are specific to different tissues and their changes also occur along with the development of different illnesses, including atherosclerosis. This review article aims to present lncRNAs problematics in general and then focuses on some of their specific representatives in relation to the process of atherosclerosis (i.e. we describe lncRNA involvement in the biology of endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells or immune cells), and we further describe possible clinical potential of lncRNA, whether in diagnostics or therapy of atherosclerosis and its clinical manifestations.

• MeSH
• Atherosclerosis * physiopathology   MeSH
• Endothelium physiology   MeSH
• Gene Expression MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• RNA, Long Noncoding * physiology   classification   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH

• MeSH
• Gastrointestinal Neoplasms diagnosis   MeSH
• Biomarkers, Tumor MeSH
• RNA, Untranslated MeSH
• Gene Expression Profiling MeSH

• Conspectus
• Patologie. Klinická medicína
• NML Fields
• gastroenterologie
• biologie
• NML Publication type
• studie

The majority of the human genome encodes RNAs that do not code for proteins. These non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) affect normal expression of the genes, including oncogenes and tumour suppressive genes, which make them a new class of targets for drug development in cancer. Although microRNAs (miRNAs) are the most studied regulatory ncRNAs to date, and miRNA-targeted therapeutics have already reached clinical development, including the mimics of the tumour suppressive miRNAs miR-34 and miR-16, which reached phase I clinical trials for the treatment of liver cancer and mesothelioma, the importance of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) is increasingly being recognised. Here, we describe obstacles and advances in the development of ncRNA therapeutics and provide the comprehensive overview of the ncRNA chemistry and delivery technologies. Furthermore, we summarise recent knowledge on the biological functions of miRNAs and their involvement in carcinogenesis, and discuss the strategies of their therapeutic manipulation in cancer. We review also the emerging insights into the role of lncRNAs and their potential as targets for novel treatment paradigms. Finally, we provide the up-to-date summary of clinical trials involving miRNAs and future directions in the development of ncRNA therapeutics.

• MeSH
• Molecular Targeted Therapy methods   trends   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• MicroRNAs genetics   MeSH
• Models, Genetic MeSH
• Neoplasms drug therapy   genetics   MeSH
• RNA, Untranslated genetics   MeSH
• Antineoplastic Agents therapeutic use   MeSH
• Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic drug effects   MeSH
• RNA, Long Noncoding genetics   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH

For the many years, the central dogma of molecular biology has been that RNA functions mainly as an informational intermediate between a DNA sequence and its encoded protein. But one of the great surprises of modern biology was the discovery that protein-coding genes represent less than 2% of the total genome sequence, and subsequently the fact that at least 90% of the human genome is actively transcribed. Thus, the human transcriptome was found to be more complex than a collection of protein-coding genes and their splice variants. Although initially argued to be spurious transcriptional noise or accumulated evolutionary debris arising from the early assembly of genes and/or the insertion of mobile genetic elements, recent evidence suggests that the non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) may play major biological roles in cellular development, physiology and pathologies. NcRNAs could be grouped into two major classes based on the transcript size; small ncRNAs and long ncRNAs. Each of these classes can be further divided, whereas novel subclasses are still being discovered and characterized. Although, in the last years, small ncRNAs called microRNAs were studied most frequently with more than ten thousand hits at PubMed database, recently, evidence has begun to accumulate describing the molecular mechanisms by which a wide range of novel RNA species function, providing insight into their functional roles in cellular biology and in human disease. In this review, we summarize newly discovered classes of ncRNAs, and highlight their functioning in cancer biology and potential usage as biomarkers or therapeutic targets.

• MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Neoplasms genetics   MeSH
• RNA, Untranslated genetics   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH

BACKGROUND: The first systematic study of small non-coding RNAs (sRNA, ncRNA) in Streptomyces is presented. Except for a few exceptions, the Streptomyces sRNAs, as well as the sRNAs in other genera of the Actinomyces group, have remained unstudied. This study was based on sequence conservation in intergenic regions of Streptomyces, localization of transcription termination factors, and genomic arrangement of genes flanking the predicted sRNAs. RESULTS: Thirty-two potential sRNAs in Streptomyces were predicted. Of these, expression of 20 was detected by microarrays and RT-PCR. The prediction was validated by a structure based computational approach. Two predicted sRNAs were found to be terminated by transcription termination factors different from the Rho-independent terminators. One predicted sRNA was identified computationally with high probability as a Streptomyces 6S RNA. Out of the 32 predicted sRNAs, 24 were found to be structurally dissimilar from known sRNAs. CONCLUSION: Streptomyces is the largest genus of Actinomyces, whose sRNAs have not been studied. The Actinomyces is a group of bacterial species with unique genomes and phenotypes. Therefore, in Actinomyces, new unique bacterial sRNAs may be identified. The sequence and structural dissimilarity of the predicted Streptomyces sRNAs demonstrated by this study serve as the first evidence of the uniqueness of Actinomyces sRNAs.

• MeSH
• Algorithms MeSH
• RNA, Bacterial genetics   chemistry   MeSH
• Species Specificity MeSH
• Financing, Organized MeSH
• Genome, Bacterial MeSH
• DNA, Intergenic MeSH
• Nucleic Acid Conformation MeSH
• Models, Molecular MeSH
• RNA, Untranslated genetics   chemistry   MeSH
• Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction MeSH
• Base Sequence MeSH
• Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis MeSH
• Streptomyces coelicolor genetics   MeSH
• Streptomyces genetics   MeSH
• Terminator Regions, Genetic MeSH
• Computational Biology MeSH

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a frequent musculoskeletal disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. Despite advances in understanding the pathogenesis of OA, prognostic biomarkers or effective targeted treatment are not currently available. Research on epigenetic factors has yielded some new insights as new technologies for their detection continue to emerge. In this context, non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, circular RNAs, piwi-interacting RNAs, and small nucleolar RNAs, regulate intracellular signaling pathways and biological processes that have a crucial role in the development of several diseases. In this review, we present current knowledge on the role of epigenetic factors with a focus on non-coding RNAs in the development, prediction and treatment of OA. This article is categorized under: RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease.

• MeSH
• RNA, Circular MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• MicroRNAs * genetics   MeSH
• Osteoarthritis * genetics   MeSH
• Piwi-Interacting RNA MeSH
• RNA, Long Noncoding * genetics   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH

Cardiac arrhythmias represent wide and heterogenic group of disturbances in the cardiac rhythm. Pathophysiology of individual arrhythmias is highly complex and dysfunction in ion channels/currents involved in generation or spreading of action potential is usually documented. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) represent highly variable group of molecules regulating the heart expression program, including regulation of the expression of individual ion channels and intercellular connection proteins, e.g. connexins.Within this chapter, we will describe basic electrophysiological properties of the myocardium. We will focus on action potential generation and spreading in pacemaker and non-pacemaker cells, including description of individual ion channels (natrium, potassium and calcium) and their ncRNA-mediated regulation. Most of the studies have so far focused on microRNAs, thus, their regulatory function will be described into greater detail. Clinical consequences of altered ncRNA regulatory function will also be described together with potential future directions of the research in the field.

• MeSH
• Ion Channels MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• MicroRNAs MeSH
• RNA, Untranslated * MeSH
• Heart MeSH
• Arrhythmias, Cardiac * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH

The circulating human transcriptome, which includes both coding and non-coding RNA (ncRNA) molecules, represents a rich source of potential biomarkers for colorectal cancer (CRC) that has only recently been explored. In particular, the release of RNA-containing extracellular vesicles (EVs), in a multitude of different in vitro cell systems and in a variety of body fluids, has attracted wide interest. The role of RNA species in EVs is still not fully understood, but their capacity to act as a form of distant communication between cells and their higher abundance in association with cancer demonstrated their relevance. In this review, we report the evidence from both in vitro and human studies on microRNAs (miRNAs) and other ncRNA profiles analysed in EVs in relation to CRC as diagnostic, prognostic and predictive markers. The studies so far highlighted that, in exosomes, the most studied category of EVs, several miRNAs are able to accurately discriminate CRC cases from controls as well as to describe the progression of the disease and its prognosis. Most of the time, the in vitro findings support the miRNA profiles detected in human exosomes. The expression profiles measured in exosomes and other EVs differ and, interestingly, there is a variability of expression also among different subsets of exosomes according to their proteic profile. On the other hand, evidence is still limited for what concerns exosome miRNAs as early diagnostic and predictive markers of treatment. Several other ncRNAs that are carried by exosomes, mostly long ncRNAs and circular RNAs, seem also to be dysregulated in CRC. Besides various technical challenges, such as the standardisation of EVs isolation methods and the optimisation of methodologies to characterise the whole spectrum of RNA molecules in exosomes, further studies are needed in order to elucidate their relevance as CRC markers.

• MeSH
• Exosomes genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Extracellular Vesicles genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Colorectal Neoplasms blood   diagnosis   genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• MicroRNAs genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Biomarkers, Tumor genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• RNA, Untranslated genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Disease Progression MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH

Většinu eukaryotického genomu představují DNA sekvence, které nekódují proteiny. Tyto sekvence jsou přepisovány buď podle vývojového programu daného organizmu nebo v rámci odpovědi na vnější signály. Výsledkem transkripce takových sekvencí je pak velké množství dlouhých nekódujících RNA (lncRNA). Celogenomové studie předpokládají existenci více než 3 300 lncRNA. Dlouhé nekódující RNA jsou definovány jako molekuly nekódujících RNA o délce více než 200 nukleotidů. Vzhledem k vysoké míře komplexnosti a rozmanitosti těchto sekvencí byl nárůst poznání v této oblasti relativně pomalý. Ačkoli bylo dosud funkčně charakterizováno pouze omezené množství lncRNA, jejich regulační potenciál je již dnes evidentní. LncRNA hrají klíčové role jak v transkripčních, tak v post-transkripčních regulačních drahách. U mnoha nádorových onemocnění dochází k deregulaci lncRNA, což společně s jejich funkčními vlastnostmi naznačuje jejich významný potenciál v procesech maligní transformace. Tento přehledový článek je zaměřen na shrnutí nedávno objevených skupin lncRNA, popis jejich biologických funkcí a zejména na jejich význam v nádorové biologii a translačním onkologickém výzkumu.

A major portion of the eukaryotic genome is occupied by DNA sequences; transcripts of these sequences do not code for proteins. This part of the eukaryotic genome is transcribed in a developmentally regulated manner or as a response to external stimuli to produce large numbers of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Genome-wide studies indicate the existence of more than 3,300 lncRNAs. Long non-coding RNAs are tentatively defined as molecules of ncRNAs that are more than two hundred nucleotides long. Due to the complexity and diversity of their sequences, progress in the field of lncRNAs has been very slow. Nonetheless, lncRNAs have emerged as key molecules involved in the control of transcriptional and posttranscriptional gene regulatory pathways. Although limited numbers of functional lncRNAs have been identified so far, the immense regulatory potential of lncRNAs is already evident, emphasizing that a genome-wide characterization of functional lncRNAs is needed. The fact that many lncRNAs are deregulated in various human cancers, together with their functional characteristics, implies their eminent role in carcinogenesis. In this review, we summarize novel classes of lncRNAs, describe their biological functions emphasizing their roles in tumor biology and translational oncology research.

• Keywords
• lincRNA, T-UC,
• MeSH
• 3' Untranslated Regions physiology   genetics   immunology   MeSH
• 5' Untranslated Regions physiology   genetics   immunology   MeSH
• Financing, Organized MeSH
• Genetic Markers genetics   MeSH
• Genetic Structures MeSH
• Genome, Human physiology   genetics   immunology   MeSH
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular diagnosis   genetics   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• RNA, Small Untranslated genetics   isolation & purification   MeSH
• MicroRNAs genetics   isolation & purification   MeSH
• Prostatic Neoplasms diagnosis   genetics   MeSH
• Breast Neoplasms diagnosis   genetics   MeSH
• Neoplasms diagnosis   etiology   genetics   MeSH
• RNA, Untranslated diagnostic use   genetics   isolation & purification   MeSH
• Untranslated Regions physiology   genetics   immunology   MeSH
• Telomere-Binding Proteins genetics   MeSH
• Pseudogenes physiology   genetics   immunology   MeSH
• Translational Research, Biomedical methods   trends   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Review MeSH