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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Andreas Werner
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Antisense RNA was a rather uncommon term in a physiology environment until short interfering RNAs emerged as the tool of choice to knock down the expression of specific genes. As a consequence, the concept of RNA having regulatory potential became widely accepted. Yet, there is more to come. Computational studies suggest that between 15 and 25% of mammalian genes overlap, giving rise to pairs of sense and antisense RNAs. The resulting transcripts potentially interfere with each other's processing, thus representing examples of RNA-mediated gene regulation by endogenous, naturally occurring antisense transcripts. Concerns that the large-scale antisense transcription may represent transcriptional noise rather than a gene regulatory mechanism are strongly opposed by recent reports. A relatively small, well-defined group of antisense or noncoding transcripts is linked to monoallelic gene expression as observed in genomic imprinting, X chromosome inactivation, and clonal expression of B and T leukocytes. For the remaining, much larger group of bidirectionally transcribed genes, however, the physiological consequences of antisense transcription as well as the cellular mechanism(s) involved remain largely speculative. Copyright © 2005 the American Physiological Society.
Author(s): Werner A, Berdal A
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: Physiological Genomics
Year: 2005
Volume: 23
Issue: 2
Pages: 125-131
ISSN (print): 1094-8341
ISSN (electronic): 1531-2267
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/physiolgenomics.00124.2005
DOI: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00124.2005
