Special Issue "Non-coding RNA"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Ling-Ling Chen
Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yue-yang Road, Shanghai 200031, China
Website: http://www.sibcb.ac.cn/ePI.asp?id=138
E-Mail: linglingchen@sibcb.ac.cn
Phone: +86 21 5492 0000
Fax: +86 21 5492 1011
Interests: noncoding RNAs; RNA editing; gene expression regulation; stem cell biology

Guest Editor
Dr. Yuntao (Steve) Mao
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University 12 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
E-Mail: ymao@fas.harvard.edu
Phone: +1 617 496-8654
Interests: noncoding RNAs; mammalian nuclear organization; single-cell sequencing; cancer biology

Dear Colleagues,

RNA has long been known to connect genes and proteins through gene transcription and protein translation. Recently, small noncoding RNAs, such as siRNAs, microRNAs, and piRNAs, have been demonstrated to play important roles in many aspects of gene regulation. New classes of noncoding RNAs, long noncoding RNAs in particular, have lately been identified and functionally characterized. The centrality of RNA in fundamental cellular processes is now highly appreciated. This issue intends to glance the recent history of noncoding RNAs and to showcase their regulatory roles in gene expression at multiple levels. Therefore, we invite submission of high quality review manuscripts that cover any aspect of the biochemistry, biophysics, cell biology, genetics, physiology, disease, and evolution of both small and long noncoding RNAs, viral and bacterial RNAs, and other regulatory RNAs.
We look forward to your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Ling-Ling Chen
Dr. Yuntao (Steve) Mao
Guest Editors

Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed Open Access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 300 CHF (Swiss Francs). English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.

• noncoding RNAs
• chromosome
• epigenetics
• gene expression regulation

Type of Paper: Review
Title: MicroRNA Expression in Cystic Fibrosis Epithelium
Author: Catherine M. Greene
Affiliation: Respiratory Research Division, Department of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Education and Research Centre, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, Ireland; E-Mail: CMGreene@rcsi.ie
Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRs) have emerged as major regulators of the protein content of a cell. In the most part miRs negatively regulate target mRNA expression, with sets of miRs now predicted to regulate certain signalling pathways. The miR expression profile of endobronchial brushings is altered in people with CF compared to those without CF. How this impacts on CF has important implications for our growing understanding of the pathophysiology of CF lung disease and the development of new therapeutics to treat its pulmonary manifestations. Herein we discuss the potential consequences of altered miR expression in CF epithelium particularly with respect to innate immunity and toll-like receptor signalling and explore how best to exploit these changes for therapeutic benefit.

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Tumor protein p63/microRNA regulatory circuitry in cancer cells
Author: Edward A. Ratovitski
Affiliation: Head and Neck Cancer Division and Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; E-Mail: eratovi1@jhmi.edu
Abstract: MicroRNAs are involved in multiple regulatory mechanisms underlying response of cancer cells to stress leading to apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and autophagy. Many molecular layers are implicated in such cellular response including epigenetic regulation of transcription, RNA processing, metabolism, signaling. The molecular circuitry between tumor protein (TP) p53 family members and specific microRNAs is a key functional network supporting tumor cell response to chemotherapy playing a decisive role in chemosensitivity or chemoresistance of human epithelial cancers. TP63 was shown to modulate the expression of numerous microRNAs in squamous cell carcinoma cells exposed to cisplatin leading to reduction or induction of specific microRNA targets involved in cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, autophagy, metabolism and epigenetic transcriptional regulation, thereby providing the groundwork for novel chemotherapeutic venues.