LONG NONCODING RNAs ARE A PROMISING THERAPEUTIC TARGET IN VARIOUS DISEASES
As of today, there have been about 2,500 gene therapy clinical trials initiated or completed worldwide. Some of the tested drugs have been already approved for clinical use. Most of these drugs target well-characterized protein-coding genes. At the same time, the past few years have witnessed an increasing interest in long noncoding RNAs (IncRNAs) and their role in cellular processes. Of 16,000 identified human IncRNA genes, biological functions have been elucidated for only two hundred. Nevertheless, we already know about their association with the development of 200 different disorders. In some cases these genes are the key element in disease pathogenesis, which makes long noncoding RNAs a promising target for gene therapy. To date, researchers successfully employ molecular biology techniques for the development of IncRNA-based therapeutic strategies. The following review focuses on the main approaches to gene therapy based on the use of IncRNA.