Despite substantial progress in understanding disease mechanisms and the approval of multiple new therapies, for the first time in 3 decades, we are witnessing an increase in overall cardiovascular deaths. Recently, the discovery of an attractive group of molecules known as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) has introduced a new catalog of diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities for cardiovascular ...

Genomic studies have revealed that humans possess far fewer protein-encoding genes than originally predicted. These over-estimates were drawn from the inherent developmental and stimuli-responsive complexity found in humans and other mammals, when compared to lower eukaryotic organisms. This left a conceptual void in many cellular networks, as a new class of functional molecules was necessary f...

Recent advances in genome and transcriptome analysis have enabled identification of numerous members of a new class of noncoding RNA, long noncoding RNA (lncRNA). lncRNAs are broadly defined as RNA molecules greater than 200 nt in length and lacking an open reading frame. Recent studies provide evidence that lncRNAs play central roles in a wide range of cellular processes through interaction wi...

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide [1, 2]. Approximately 9.5 million new GC cases and 7.2 million deaths are recorded annually [2]. Despite efforts in diagnostic techniques and improvements in chemotherapy and radiotherapy, patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer still carry a poor prognosi...

Paraspeckles are ribonucleoprotein bodies found in the interchromatin space of mammalian cell nuclei. These structures play a role in regulating the expression of certain genes in differentiated cells by nuclear retention of RNA. The core paraspeckle proteins (PSF/SFPQ, P54NRB/NONO, and PSPC1 [paraspeckle protein 1]) are members of the DBHS (Drosophila melanogaster behavior, human splicing) fam...

A growing body of evidence shows that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in multiple human diseases than previously realized. However, no information is available now about lncRNAs in cardiac fibroblasts. The expression profile of lncRNAs was analyzed in Ang II-treated cardiac fibroblasts using lncRNAs arrays. The analysis showed that 282 of 4376 detected lncRNAs demonstrated >2-fold d...

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) represent a unique kind of stem cell, as they are able to indefinitely self-renew and hold the potential to differentiate into any derivative of the three germ layers. As such, human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) and human induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs) provide a unique opportunity for studying the earliest steps of human embryogenesis and, at the same time...