The long intergenic noncoding RNA landscape of human lymphocytes highlights the regulation of T cell differentiation by linc-MAF-4.

ABSTRACT: Long noncoding RNAs are emerging as important regulators of cellular functions, but little is known of their role in the human immune system. Here we investigated long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) in 13 subsets of T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes by next-generation sequencing-based RNA sequencing (RNA-seq analysis) and de novo transcriptome reconstruction. We identified over 500 previously unknown lincRNAs and described lincRNA signatures. Expression of linc-MAF-4, a chromatin-associated lincRNA specific to the TH1 subset of helper T cells, was inversely correlated with expression of MAF, a TH2-associated transcription factor. Downregulation of linc-MAF-4 skewed T cell differentiation toward the TH2 phenotype. We identified a long-distance interaction between the genomic regions of

SUBMITTER: Ranzani V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4333215 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature