Welcome to Ubetis-LncDB
LncRNAs are emerging as important regulators of tissue physiology and disease processes. Recent advances in transcriptome sequencing have made it possible to distinguish ubiquitously expressed (UE) lncRNAs and tissue-specific (TS) lncRNAs, thereby providing clues to their cellular functions. Here, we assembled and functionally characterized a consensus lncRNA transcriptome by curating hundreds of RNA-seq datasets across normal human tissues from 16 independent studies. As results, besides the strong tissue-specificity of lncRNA transcriptome, a general ubiquitously expressed feature is delineated. In total, 1,184 UE lncRNAs and 2,583 TS lncRNAs are further identified. These different lncRNA populations had several distinct features. Specifically, UE lncRNAs were associated with genomic compaction and highly conserved exons and promoter regions. We found that UE lncRNAs are regulated at the transcriptional level (with especially strong regulation of enhancers) and are associated with epigenetic modifications and post-transcriptional regulation. These regulations may collaboratively reinforce the essential roles of UE lncRNAs.
Finally, we proposed a novel way to predict the functions of UE and TS lncRNAs through analysis of their genomic location and similarities in epigenetic modifications. Our characterization of UE and TS lncRNAs may provide a foundation for lncRNA genomics and the delineation of complex disease mechanisms.
Chunjie Jiang et al.. Identifying and functionally characterizing tissue-specific and ubiquitously expressed human lncRNAs. Oncotarget.