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Long noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are changing the perspectives in modern molecular biology and gene
regulation. The presence of tens of thousands of long ncRNA genes in human adds an unprecedented layer
of complexity promising answers to many of the yet unresolved questions in molecular biology. Long
ncRNAs could turn out to constitute a major part of the regulatory network in higher eukaryotes.
Long ncRNAs with regulatory roles in gene expression have been identified and characterized
experimentally through various approaches. Both repressors and enhancers of transcription have been
described, together with long-range regulatory effects either in cis or in trans. Long ncRNAs have been
shown to reprogram chromatin state in tumor metastasis in human and to control pluripotency and
differentiation of embryonic stem cells in mouse. The aim of the group is to unravel mechanistic details of long ncRNA function, with a special focus on the role of long ncRNAs in long-range transcriptional regulation of gene expression. A recent review on the involvement of long ncRNAs in enhancer function can be found here. We work in human tissue culture with sequencing and expression profiling, chromosomal interaction studies and a number of functional reporter systems. |
