Long noncoding RNAs: Novel insights into hepatocelluar carcinoma

Recent advances in non-protein coding part of human genome analysis have discovered extensive transcription of large RNA transcripts that lack of coding protein function, termed long noncoding RNAs (IncRNAs). It is becoming evident that IncRNAs may be an important class of pervasive genes involved in carcinogenesis and metastasis. However, the biological and molecular mechanisms of lncRNAs in diverse diseases are not yet fully understood. Thus, it is anticipated that more efforts should be made to clarify the IncRNAs world. Moreover, accumulating studies have demonstrated that a class of IncRNAs are dysregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) and closely related with tumorigenesis, metastasis, prognosis or diagnosis. In this review, we will briefly discuss the regulation and functional role of IncRNAs in HCC, therefore evaluating the potential of IncRNAs as prospective novel therapeutic targets in HCC. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.