Research advances of lncRNAs in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of noncoding RNAs, are commonly defined as RNA molecules more than 200 nucleotides in length. LncRNA has been shown to get involved in various biological processes, such as chromatin modification, transcriptional activation and intranuclear transport. Emerging research have also indicated that lncRNA plays a vital role in the pathological processes of many diseases. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become one of the most common chronic liver diseases with an increasing incidence. Recent studies have confirmed that lncRNAs are key contributors to pathological processes that are underpinning the initiation and progression of NAFLD, including insulin resistance, lipid metabolism disorders and inflammation. This review summarizes the findings of the role of lncRNAs in the pathological processes of NAFLD that have obtained to date, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the prevention, treatment, clinical detection of NAFLD, and the development of innovative anti-NAFLD drugs.