Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are non-protein-coding RNA transcripts that exert a key role in many cellular processes and have potential toward addressing disease etiology. Here, we review existing noncoding RNA classes and then describe a variety of mechanisms and functions by which lncRNAs regulate gene expression such as chromatin remodeling, genomic imprinting, gene transcription and post-transcriptional processing. We also examine several lncRNAs that contribute significantly to pathogenesis, oncogenesis, tumor suppression and cell cycle arrest of diverse cancer types and also give a summary of the pathways that lncRNAs might be involved in.

长的非编码RNA（lncRNA）是非蛋白质的RNA转录物，在许多细胞过程中发挥关键作用，并具有解决疾病病因的潜力。在这里，我们回顾了现有的非编码RNA类，然后描述了lncRNA调节基因表达的各种机制和功能，例如染色质重塑，基因组印迹，基因转录和转录后加工。我们还检查了几种lncRNA，它们对多种癌症类型的发病机理，致癌作用，肿瘤抑制和细胞周期阻滞有重大贡献，并且还概述了lncRNA可能参与的途径。