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Kamal et al. J Transl Genet Genom 2024;8:162-85 Journal of Translational
DOI: 10.20517/jtgg.2023.55
Genetics and Genomics

Review Article Open Access

Silent players, loud impact: unveiling the therapeutic
potentials of lncRNAs

1
3
Ahmed Kamal 1 , Menha Swellam 2 , Nevin M. Shalaby , Marwa K. Darwish , Eslam M. El-Nahrery 1
1
Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Suez University, Suez PO Box 43221, Egypt.
2
Biochemistry Department, Biotechnology Research Institute, High Throughput Molecular and Genetic laboratory, Central
Laboratories Network and the Centers of Excellence, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza PO Box 12622, Egypt.
3
Neurology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo PO Box 11562, Egypt.
Correspondence to: Dr. Ahmed Kamal, Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Suez University, Suez-Cairo Road, El Salam
City, Suez PO Box 43221, Egypt. E-mail: Ahmed.Kamal@sci.suezuni.edu.eg
How to cite this article: Kamal A, Swellam M, Shalaby NM, Darwish MK, El-Nahrery EM. Silent players, loud impact: unveiling
the therapeutic potentials of lncRNAs. J Transl Genet Genom 2024;8:162-85. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/jtgg.2023.55

Received: 2 Dec 2023 First Decision: 26 Jan 2024 Revised: 23 Feb 2024 Accepted: 7 Mar 2024 Published: 7 Apr 2024

Academic Editor: Andrea L. Gropman Copy Editor: Fangyuan Liu Production Editor: Fangyuan Liu

Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of RNA transcripts that are long (i.e., more than 200 nucleotides)
and not translated into proteins. They have recently emerged as potential treatment targets for numerous
disorders due to their involvement in multiple cellular functions such as gene regulation, epigenetic modulation,
and chromatin organization. This review highlights the current state of lncRNA-based therapeutics, the potential of
lncRNAs as drug targets for treating human diseases, the various strategies and types of RNA-based therapeutics,
and the complications of developing lncRNA-based drugs. We conclude that lncRNA-based therapeutics represent
a promising class of drugs that can potentially treat various human diseases and that further research is needed to
fully realize their therapeutic potential.

Keywords: Long non-coding RNA, RNA-based therapeutics, LncRNA-based drugs, small interfering RNAs, short
hairpin RNAs, microRNAs

INTRODUCTION
Studies have shown that only 2% of the genome consists of protein-coding genes , and the remaining 98%
[1]
do not have protein-encoding function . Surprisingly, most of the genome (around 70%) is actively
[2]

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