[Non-coding RNAs and diseases]

With the completion of large scale genomic sequencing, a great number of non-conding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been discovered and capture the attention of the biological sciences community. All known ncRNAs may be divided into two groups, namely: i) small ncRNAs, which comprise microRNAs (miRNAs), PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and ii) several thousands of long ncRNAs (IncRNAs). NcRNAs were shown to be involved in eukaryotic growth and development, cell proliferation and differentiation, apoptosis, epigenetic modifications, and also the complex control and pathogenesis of various diseases. In this paper, knowledge on the ncRNAs, which functioning is associated with human diseases, has been summarized.