The Emerging Role of lncRNAs in Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a highly debilitating disease and is increasingly being recognized as an important global health priority. However, the mechanisms underlying SCI have not yet been fully elucidated, and effective therapies for SCI are lacking. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which form a major class of noncoding RNAs, have emerged as novel targets for regulating several physiological functions and mediating numerous neurological diseases. Notably, gene expression profile analyses have demonstrated aberrant changes in lncRNA expression in rats or mice after traumatic or nontraumatic SCI. LncRNAs have been shown to be associated with multiple pathophysiological processes following SCI including inflammation, neural apoptosis, and oxidative stress. They also play a crucial role in the complications associated with SCI, such as neuropathic pain. At the same time, some lncRNAs have been found to be therapeutic targets for neural stem cell transplantation and hydrogen sulfide treatment aimed at alleviating SCI. Therefore, lncRNAs could be promising biomarkers for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of SCI. However, further researches are required to clarify the therapeutic effects of lncRNAs on SCI and the mechanisms underlying these effects. In this study, we reviewed the current progress of the studies on the involvement of lncRNAs in SCI, with the aim of drawing attention towards their roles in this debilitating condition.