Function by Structure: Spotlights on Xist Long Non-coding RNA

Recent experimental evidence indicates that lncRNAs can act as regulatory molecules in the context of development and disease. Xist, the master regulator of X chromosome inactivation, is a classic example of how lncRNAs can exert multi-layered and fine-tuned regulatory functions, by acting as a mole...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Frontiers in molecular biosciences 2017-12, Vol.4, p.90-90
Main Authors:	Pintacuda, Greta, Young, Alexander N, Cerase, Andrea
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	3D-organization epigenetics Molecular Biosciences RNA-protein interaction RNA-structure X chromosome inactivation xist RNA
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Recent experimental evidence indicates that lncRNAs can act as regulatory molecules in the context of development and disease. Xist, the master regulator of X chromosome inactivation, is a classic example of how lncRNAs can exert multi-layered and fine-tuned regulatory functions, by acting as a molecular scaffold for recruitment of distinct protein factors. In this review, we discuss the methodologies employed to define Xist RNA structures and the tight interplay between structural clues and functionality of lncRNAs. This model of modular function dictated by structure, can be also generalized to other lncRNAs, beyond the field of X chromosome inactivation, to explain common features of similarly folded RNAs.
ISSN:	2296-889X 2296-889X