The Role of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Stress and Diseases
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 1454
Special Issue Editors
Interests: experimental molecular biology; RNA-based bioinformatics; exosomes; oxidative stress; genotoxic stress; gynecological cancers; multiple sclerosis; clinical biomarkers for human health and diseases
2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
Interests: cancer systems biology; bioinformatics; big data and survival prediction analyses; predictive and personalized medicine; computational genome and transcriptome biology; non-B DNA structures; RNA:DNA hybrids; R-loops; G-quadruplexes; lncRNAs; clinical biomarker discovery and validation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) genes occupy a significant fraction of the genomes of complex organisms. They are essential for fine-tuning the cellular response to immediate and prolonged stress conditions. In response to short-term stress, lncRNAs rapidly adjust cellular activities by influencing gene transcription, protein translation, and signal transduction. They can activate stress-responsive genes, modulate inflammatory pathways, and enhance cell survival mechanisms such as autophagy and apoptosis. They regulate cells’ core pathways of oxidative stress response, DNA damage and repair response, protein damage response, immune response, and hormone signaling, maintaining cellular homeostasis. Under prolonged stress, lncRNAs help cells adapt through sustained epigenetic changes in the gene expression of the required stress-protective pathways. By acting as molecular scaffolds, decoys, or signals, lncRNAs fine-tune cellular responses, making them potential markers of disease classification and therapeutic targets for multifactorial diseases driven by genetic and environmental stressors. Recently, lncRNAs have been identified and validated as loads in exosomes of biological fluids. Hence, lncRNAs also represent circulating biomarkers for monitoring homeostasis or pathology at the organism level. Chronic or systemic stress can dysregulate the expression and secretion of lncRNAs, contributing to long-term inflammation, tissue damage, and diseases like cardiovascular disorders and cancer. We welcome the submission of manuscripts discussing the exciting and diverse processes related to lncRNA functions in homeostasis and diseases.
Dr. Antonis Giannakakis
Prof. Dr. Vladimir A. Kuznetsov
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)
- human health
- core stress response
- genotoxic stress
- exosomes
- biomarkers
- stress-related diseases
- cancer
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