From darkness to light, codifying the non-coding genome

Abstract

The development of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies has made scientists radically change their vision about the genome, transcriptome and proteome. Massive DNA and RNA sequencing analyses have detected thousands of novel non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) transcribed from genome regions known earlier as “junk DNA”. These results have led scientists to put aside the proteocentric view of genomics and have highlighted the relevance of non-coding transcripts, especially of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Besides, recent research reveals the importance of regulation of transcription and translation processes, which are essential to gene expression. One of these principal regulatory mechanisms is based on the reversible biochemical modifications found in DNA, RNA and proteins and their research have led to new biological mechanisms called epigenomics, epitranscriptomics or epiproteomics. However, most of this research has been conducted on DNA and proteins, and thus, the biological effect of these modifications in RNA remains unknown. Considering this, there are many questions to be answered in the context of RNA biology. In this review we will focus on the knowledge about the biology of lncRNAs and epitranscriptome, as well as their link to human diseases, in particular with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Undoubtedly, scientists have a great challenge to decipher the mysterious world of RNA biology and be able to transfer the results obtained in this area to the clinical practice of human tumors and diseases.