Long Non-Coding RNAs and Enhancers

Establishment and maintenance of cell identity is shaped by a set of core regulatory factors with positive and negative influences on gene expression leading to the assembly of specialized chromatin structures. Studies of non-coding RNAs have led to the proposal that non-coding RNAs may constitute such regulatory factors helping to balance the gene expression programs during development. We have uncovered a class of long non-coding RNAs with enhancer-like function, which positively regulate gene expression and chromatin architecture.