It is clear that RNA is more than just a messenger between gene and protein.The mammalian genome is pervasively transcribed,giving rise to tens of thousands of non-coding transcripts.Whether all of these transcripts are functional remains to be elucidated,but it is evident that there are many functional long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs).Recent studies have set out to decode the regulatory role and functional diversity of lncRNAs.Here we organize these studies to highlight the significant involvements of lncRNAs in regulation of gene expression and human physiological and pathological processes,which are achieved by their interaction with DNA,RNA or protein.
Long non-coding RNAs （lncRNAs） have gained widespread interest in the past decade owing to their enormous amount and surprising functions implicated in a variety of biological pro- cesses. Some lncRNAs exert function as enhancers, i.e., activating gene transcription by serving as the cis-regulatory molecules. Furthermore, recent studies have demonstrated that many enhancer elements can be transcribed and produce RNA molecules, which are termed as enhancer RNAs （eRNAs）. The eRNAs are not merely the by-product of the enhancer transcription. In fact, many of them directly exert or regulate enhancer activity in gene activation through diverse mechanisms. Here, we provide an overview of enhancer activity, transcription of enhancer itself, characteristics of eRNAs, as well as their roles in regulating enhancer activity and gene expression.
