Abstract IA4: Linking RNA to human health and disease

In the 50 years since RNA was identified as a central component in the flow of genetic information, it has become increasingly clear that RNA is more than a mere messenger and instead performs vast and diverse functions. Numerous studies have revealed that the mammalian genome is pervasively transcribed, giving rise to many thousands of non-coding transcripts including a class of long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs). Raising the question of what do lincRNAs do? To address this question we have developed a ‘guilt by association’ to ‘predict’ lincRNA functions leading to hypothesis driven experimentation. Our guilt by association method pointed to a clear connection of lincRNAs and numerous cellular pathways ranging from pluripotency, cancer, adipogenesis to parasitology. Experimental perturbation experiments have unraveled a myriad of functional roles for lincRNAs in these pathways. Together, these results point to key regulatory roles for lincRNAs across diverse biological pathways and diseases, with a common theme of interfacing with and modulating protein regulatory complexes. Citation Format: Moran Cabili, Eric Lander, Pardis Sabeti, Aviv Regev, John L. Rinn, Cole Trapnell, Loyal Goff, Kate Broadbent, Mitchell Guttman. Linking RNA to human health and disease [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Noncoding RNAs and Cancer; 2012 Jan 8-11; Miami Beach, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(2 Suppl):Abstract nr IA4.