Non-coding RNA regulatory networks

• Published in: Biochimica et biophysica acta. Gene regulatory mechanisms Vol. 1863; no. 6; p. 194417
• Main Authors: Panni, Simona, Lovering, Ruth C., Porras, Pablo, Orchard, Sandra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.06.2020
• ISSN: 1874-9399; 1876-4320; 1876-4320
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2019.194417

It is well established that the vast majority of human RNA transcripts do not encode for proteins and that non-coding RNAs regulate cell physiology and shape cellular functions. A subset of them is involved in gene regulation at different levels, from epigenetic gene silencing to post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA stability. Notably, the aberrant expression of many non-coding RNAs has been associated with aggressive pathologies. Rapid advances in network biology indicates that the robustness of cellular processes is the result of specific properties of biological networks such as scale-free degree distribution and hierarchical modularity, suggesting that regulatory network analyses could provide new insights on gene regulation and dysfunction mechanisms. In this study we present an overview of public repositories where non-coding RNA-regulatory interactions are collected and annotated, we discuss unresolved questions for data integration and we recall existing resources to build and analyse networks. •Transcriptional regulatory networks regulate cell physiology and may determine pathologies.•Network analyses could provide new insights on gene regulation and dysfunction mechanisms.•Several ncRNAs (miRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs) have been shown to be involved in regulation.•Integration of ncRNAs into regulatory networks is essential to identify molecular driver events.