Functional Roles of Long Non-coding RNAs in Motor Neuron Development and Disease

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have gained increasing attention as they exhibit highly tissue- and cell-type specific expression patterns. LncRNAs are highly expressed in the central nervous system and their roles in the brain have been studied intensively in recent years, but their roles in the spinal motor neurons (MNs) are largely unexplored. Spinal MN development is controlled by precise expression of a gene regulatory network mediated spatiotemporally by transcription factors, representing an elegant paradigm for deciphering the roles of lncRNAs during development. Moreover, many MN-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), are associated with RNA metabolism, yet the link between MN-related diseases and lncRNAs remains obscure. In this review, we summarize lncRNAs known to be involved in MN development and disease, and discuss their potential future therapeutic applications.