New Research Defines Role of Long Noncoding RNAs in Inflammation

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Jan. 19, 2015 - PRLog -- Inflammation and immune system activation are complex processes controlled by elaborate signaling pathways and hundreds of genes that are turned on and off in response to external stimuli such as bacteria or viruses. A class of molecules called long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are now emerging as important regulators of inflammatory gene expression and potential targets for novel anti-inflammatory therapeutics, as described in a Review article in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR) from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com). The article is available free on the JICR (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jir.2014.0120) website until February 19, 2015.

In “Transcription of Inflammatory Genes: Long Noncoding RNA and Beyond (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jir.2014.0120),” Susan Carpenter and Katherine Fitzgerald, University of Massachusetts Medical School (Worcester) and University of California, San Francisco, note that scientists are just beginning to understand the role of lncRNAs in regulating the innate immune system and controlling inflammatory processes, and their potential to be dysregulated in disease. The authors provide an overview of current research on lncRNAs and inflammation and propose future research goals.

“Long non-coding RNAs are emerging to be major regulators of many cellular processes; the  authors of this article have pioneered investigations of how these RNAs affect immune responses” says Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research Co-Editor-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

About the Journal
Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR) (http://www.liebertpub.com/jir), led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that covers all aspects of interferons and cytokines from basic science to clinical applications. Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research is an official journal of the International Cytokine & Interferon Society (http://cytokines-interferons.org/). Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the JICR (http://www.liebertpub.com/jir) website.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Viral Immunology, AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, and DNA and Cell Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) website.