Elucidating the mechanism governing adult stem cells' self-renewal or differentiation is central to regenerative medicine. It can also help understand the onset of stem cell-related pathologies such as cancer.
Long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) have emerged as novel regulators of fundamental biological processes. However, the vast majority of lincRNAs have not been functionally characterised and their role in the maintenance of adult stem cells has not been elucidated.
Further details: Regulatory RNAs in stem cells